


An Ever Fix'ed Mark

by indubitably_dee (Delylah)



Series: The Soulmarked Series, a 2 Moons soulmate AU [1]
Category: 2 moons, เดือนเกี้ยวเดือน | 2 Moons - Chiffon_Cake, เดือนเกี้ยวเดือน | 2 Moons The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys' Love, M/M, Slow Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24390628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delylah/pseuds/indubitably_dee
Summary: "Shiya, Ming, why the hell did you kiss Kit's mark?"It was the same question I had been asking myself since it happened. And so far, I'd only been able to come up with one explanation."I...I guess because...I wanted to."A slow-burn, soul-mark romance with multiple POV's and some angst involved.
Relationships: Forth Jaturapoom Jamornhum/Beam Baramee Vongviphan, Ming Mingkwan Daichapanya/Kit Mongkol Intochar, Pha Phana Kongthanin/Yo Wayo Panitchayasawad
Series: The Soulmarked Series, a 2 Moons soulmate AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761193
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	1. Introduction

Hello! If you read 2 Moons fic on Wattpad you may have already read this story, just a heads up!

Many moons ago I set out to write a soul-mark story for Ming and Kit, but Forth and Beam have insisted that their story is worth telling, and Phana and Wayo naturally nosed their way in, too. Each of the characters/couples will have soulmate marks and their own stories to tell, but my story is primarily from Ming and Kit's pov. The story is loosely based on the canon timeline, but largely AU. All of the characters will have a somewhat more detailed history with each other, and the story begins as far back as the Insane Doctor Gang's last year of high school, with some flashbacks earlier than that. This is the first in a series I'm calling The Soulmarked Series, which will have 3 main stories and at least one short fic (plus an AU of my own AU that will have a supernatural storyline). Currently I'm updating this story about every 2 weeks. It's up to chapter 23 on Wattpad and will probably have around 30-35 by the time this first story in the series is complete. I don't think the books that follow will be that long.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters or places in this story, or any events/plot elements that exist in Chiffon Cake's original story, 2 Moons. I'm not making any money off of this story. I am largely unfamiliar with Thai culture (other than what I've seen in dramas), so please let me know if there's something I've made a complete hash of. This is also my first story in the BL genre, so again, kindly let me know if I've made a complete hash of something. 

Story title is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, which is partly what gave me the idea for the story):

_Let me not to the marriage of true minds  
Admit impediments. Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:  
**O no; it is an ever-fix'ed mark,**  
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;  
It is the star to every wandering bark,  
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.  
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks  
Within his bending sickle's compass come;  
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,  
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.  
If this be error and upon me proved,  
I never writ, nor no man ever loved._

I hope you will enjoy the story. I appreciate any and all feedback. (with 23 chapters to carry over it may take me a few days so I hope you'll be patient!)


	2. Sweet Thief

_KIT'S POV - Senior Year of High School_

"P'? Are you ok?"

The face peering down at mine was handsome enough that practically every girl in school, and probably several of the boys, too, would have melted into a puddle of goo there on the gymnasium floor if they'd had the opportunity to be that close to him. For a moment, all I could do was stare up in mute appreciation of his lightly tanned skin, perfectly straight nose, white, even teeth and eyes the color of my favorite espresso roasted coffee. The only flaw I could find was that his brow was furrowed in concern, a distinct difference from his usual cheerful grin.

"P'?" he asked again. He held two fingers up so close to my face I went cross-eyed trying to focus. "P'Kit? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Realization flooded in as I glanced around and noticed that the basketball game had come to a halt. One of the players on the opposing team had rammed me with his elbow on a rebound, which had sent me sprawling across the floor of the basketball court and knocked the wind out of me. Everyone in the gym was staring at the two of us, including my best friends, both of whom knelt beside me. Pha, with a frown of concentration on his face, was busy checking for injuries, but that asshole Beam just followed my gaze to its target and smirked.

I knocked Ming's fingers away from me and scowled at him. "Get out of my face. I'm fine."

He rocked back on his heels and sighed. "It's only natural to be worried about my senior, P'Kit. Especially when he's as cute as you," he added with a wink.

I turned my head and stifled a groan, only to be met with Beam's devilish grin instead.

"Kitty, you took a pretty bad spill," he said with exaggerated concern. "We should probably let Ming here take you to the nurse, right Pha?"

"Like hell," I muttered, as I rolled into a sitting position. "I'm fine. I don't need the nurse. Let's finish the game." I tried to stand, but when I braced my hand against the floor I couldn't stop the shout that erupted from my mouth at the searing sensation in my wrist.

_"Shiya!"_

I doubled over, cradling my wrist against my stomach. It felt as if someone was jabbing hot needles through the base of my hand. The pain was so bad it brought tears to my eyes. When Pha reached for my arm, I jerked away.

"Kit, let me see your arm," he insisted. "Now."

I knew that voice. That was Pha's "I am so done with your bullshit" voice. He didn't use it often with Beam or me, but when he did, it was better just to let him have his way. I braced myself and stretched my arm out to him. As Pha steadied my elbow with one hand and began delicately probing at my injury, someone's large, warm hand fell onto my shoulder and squeezed gently.

At first, I thought it was Beam, but Beam was facing me, his smirk now a full-blown grin that stretched nearly from ear to ear. I glanced back and realized the hand on my shoulder belonged to Ming, who had risen to one knee behind me. Wayo, our team manager, stood slightly behind him, peeking around his side at Pha, his cheeks flushed pink.

When Pha touched a tender spot, I gasped from the pain of it and flinched back. It was then I realized Ming's knee was braced against my back. His hand steadied one shoulder as his friend reached for the other.

"Oh, P'Kit, are you ok?" Wayo asked in a soft, shy voice.

Pha's hand tightened around my elbow to the point that it hurt almost as much as my wrist did. When I hissed between my teeth, he let go immediately. 

"Sorry, Kit," he mumbled as a faint flush darkened his own cheeks. "Uh, Beam's right, you should let Ming take you to the nurse. I think you've sprained your wrist. You may even have a fracture. You're done."

"But the game..." I began to protest, but Beam interrupted.

"Ai' Kitty, don't be stupid," he said. "You're in no condition to finish the game." He had stopped smirking the moment he realized something was truly amiss and begun to look remorseful. "Be reasonable for once, Kit," he chided.

Before I could argue, Ming simply rose to his feet and leaned over, catching me under my arms to lift me into a standing position. He started to drape his arm around my back to help me over to the bench, but I sidled away from him.

"I can walk without help. It's my wrist that's injured, not my ankle," I grouched.

Ming gave an embarrassed shrug. "Oh. Right. Sorry, P'."

He and Wayo followed me to the bench along with Pha and Beam. Coach had cleared a space for me so that no one could jostle my arm and knelt before me to inspect my injury.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell if a wrist injury is actually a fracture or just a sprain," he said. "I'll let the nurse have the final say, but I think you should go and have an x-ray or MRI, Kit."

The referee walked over to let Coach know that we would forfeit if the game didn't resume shortly. He nodded and gestured at one of the second string players, a boy named Tonic to take up my position on the court. His brother, Gin had already subbed in for Ming not long before I was fouled and fell to the floor.

"Ming, why don't you and Wayo escort Kit to the infirmary. Gin can finish the game, there's only one quarter left.

"Really, Coach, I don't need -" I began, but Pha butted in.

"Kit, don't argue, just go with them." He turned to Ming and narrowed his eyes. "Be careful with my friend, Nong," Pha cautioned Ming. "I'll be around to check on him after the game is over."

"Don't worry, P'Pha, I'll treat him like my very own treasure," Ming said.

_What the fuck was that supposed to mean?  
_

As Ming and Wayo escorted me out of the gymnasium, several of the cheerleaders came to fawn over me, crowding in too close for comfort.

"P' Kit, do you need anything? Does it hurt very badly? Would you like some water? Shall we keep you company in the infirmary?" They were all speaking at once, some reaching towards me as they did. 

"Ladies, please don't crowd P'Kit or you may injure him worse," Ming said, placing his hands on my shoulders to usher me a few steps ahead with Wayo. Then turned to face the girls and block their path. "I promise we'll take good care of him. Don't deprive the audience of your cute selves!" 

As he finished this last part, he glanced over his shoulder at me and gave me a wink, which stopped the girls in their tracks. Some of them began fanning themselves as they cooed at him and began crowding around him instead of me. He gave them one of his biggest smiles and waved with both hands as he slowly walked backward. 

This bastard. Flirting is a way of life for him.

Wayo bent close to speak into my ear. "He means well, P'Kit. He's really worried about you."

I shot him a startled look. Had I said that out loud? As we reached the gymnasium doors, he moved to open one of them for me. When Ming turned and saw we had nearly managed our escape, he jogged a few steps to catch up with us and held the door so both Wayo and I could precede him through it. Then he and Wayo walked on either side of me like some kind of honor guard. I went along with them without protest until we reached the hallway.

"I think I can make it to the nurse on my own, Nongs. Ming, you should go back to the game in case they need you," I said. I knew I sounded ungrateful, but pain makes me grumpy. My wrist was starting to throb painfully, and the last thing I wanted was for Mingkwan Daichapanya to see me shedding tears over a sprained wrist.

"It's no trouble, P'Kit," Wayo said, taking my uninjured hand in his own and patting it with his other. "Mi...I mean, we'll feel better knowing you're ok."

I found his gentle voice oddly soothing, and while I would have found holding any other guy's hand a little weird, somehow holding Wayo's soft hand was just comfortable. Or maybe that was the pain talking. Either way, I was beginning to understand why Pha found the boy so appealing, even though he still adamantly denied any attraction.

Then Wayo glanced over at Ming, and his eyes widened. I followed his gaze and saw Ming was wearing a stony expression, his own gaze focused on my hand in Wayo's. 

"Oh, um, sorry, P'Kit. I didn't mean to be so forward," Wayo said, dropping my hand back by my side. 

_Uh-oh. Looks like perhaps Ming is more than just Wayo's friend, after all,_ I thought. I knew Pha would be upset if I told him; even though he refused to admit it, you'd have to be an idiot not to notice that Pha has been in love with Wayo for years. Fortunately for Pha, sometimes Beam is a bit of an idiot, and Wayo himself must have been too enamored by Ming to notice anyone else.

Ming wrapped his arm around my shoulders and urged me forward. 

"Come on, P'Kit. I promised your friend I'd take care of you. Are you going to come along nicely, or do I need to carry you?"

"Don't be ridic..." I started, reaching up to remove his arm from my shoulders, but I had moved the wrong arm. A sudden wave of pain engulfed me, dimming my vision until I thought I could see twinkling stars.

_Oh God, I think I'm going to pass out,_ I thought.

And then I did.

*****

When I came to, I was lying on a bed in the infirmary. Someone had cut the sweatband from my wrist, elevated it on a folded towel and applied an ice pack. 

"P' Kit? Are you awake?"

Wayo was sitting in a chair next to the bed and leaned over to peer into my eyes.

"Ugh, I think so. Is the nurse here?" I asked, confused as to how I'd arrived there.

"Not yet. Ming went to look for her. Here."

He placed his arm behind my back to help me sit up, then held a bottle of water for me so I could take a sip without spilling it. I was still a little shaky after having fainted.

"How long was I out? And how did I get here?" I asked after I scooted back against the head of the bed and looked around to see that we were alone in the infirmary.

Wayo looked at his watch. "Maybe about ten minutes?" he said, making it sound like a question. Then he grinned, which made his eyes seem to sparkle with mischief. Pha must be so jealous right now! I couldn't wait to tease him later.

"And about that... Ming caught you when you fainted. Then he picked you up and carried you all the way here," he said with a bashful smile.

"Uuuughhh," I groaned. "Please tell me he didn't."

"Sorry, P'Kit. It's the truth. And, um..." he hesitated, giving me a wary glance.

"What? What could possibly be worse?" I whined.

"Well, he was sort of running at the time, so I'm afraid it attracted some attention," he explained with a giggle. "I'm pretty sure I saw some people getting pictures on their phones. Maybe even video."

I supposed it was too much to ask the bed to just open up and swallow me whole. Instead, I just pulled the sheet up to my face to hide my embarrassment from Wayo, who was now trying to hide his laughter behind his hands. Just then the door creaked open, and a dark head peeked through.

"Did you find the nurse?" Wayo asked.

Ming stepped through the doorway, looking flushed and winded. 

"There was a small accident in the chemistry lab, one of the students needed help with the eyewash station. She'll be back soon. Hey, P'Kit. Glad to see you're back with us!" he said, flashing a cocky grin.

The uncooperative bed remained completely solid, refusing to devour me and put me out of my misery. The spread proved no match for Ming, especially since I was only able to hold it with one hand. He tugged it away from my face with little effort. 

"Here, drink some more water. The nurse said it should help with the dizziness; you're probably dehydrated from playing basketball," he said, offering me the same bottle Wayo had given me earlier. 

I accepted it gratefully; it was something to do besides sit there speechless like my tongue had been surgically removed. While I drank, Ming lifted the ice pack away from my wrist. "The nurse also said we shouldn't leave the ice on longer than 20 minutes at a time, or it might cause frostbite."

The inside of my wrist was facing up, revealing the faint gray outline of a stylized sun that had been etched into my skin since the first day of my second year of high school. Ming studied it for a moment, tracing the inner circle delicately with his fingertip. I shivered at the contact, goosebumps pimpling the skin of my arms. For some reason, I didn't make him stop, even though I never let anyone else touch that mark - not even Pha and Beam.

"It's so pretty. Why do you keep it hidden?" he asked in a softer voice than I'd ever heard him use.

I shrugged. There wasn't really an answer I could give him. Some people liked to show off their soul marks, but for me it was something personal, only to be shared with the people you were closest to. Pha and Beam and my family members were the only ones who had ever seen it. Not long after it appeared I began wearing a watch buckled on the outside of my wrist, with the watch face on the inside to cover up the mark. 

"Your wrist must hurt a lot," Ming said. I should have known from the mischievous glint in his eye that he was up to something, but I never could have expected what happened next. That bastard leaned over and, before I could stop him, placed a feather-light kiss directly on my soul-mark!

"Mingkwan, don't disrespect P'Kit like that!" Wayo scolded at the same time I snatched my wrist away and yelled, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

For a moment, Ming didn't say a word. His eyes were wide, and he stared at me like he was afraid I might strike him.

"I...I... It was just a kiss to make it better, P'," he stuttered in a faint voice that was completely devoid of his usual bravado. "I didn't mean...." He trailed off, his eyes fixed on the mark he'd just kissed as if he had just realized he had committed what most people would consider a major breach of etiquette.

I wrapped my other hand around the injured wrist to keep him from doing anything else. It was then that I noticed the warm, tingling sensation traveling up my arm that eclipsed the pain I should have felt from the injury. And even though the mark itself wouldn't be filled in with color for another 24 hours, that's when I was finally certain.

Mingkwan Daichapanya was my soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been proofread by anyone but me, so please let me know if you spot any glaring errors, especially as regards anything that might be unacceptable language/culture-wise. I'm currently trying to update this story once every two weeks. Thank you for reading! 
> 
> (all the chapter titles are word combinations taken from Shakespeare sonnets, this one is from #99)


	3. Tongue Tied Patient/ce

Kit clutched at his injured wrist with a grimace of pain. He shouldn't have moved it; the thought that I may have caused him further injury made my stomach turn, as if there was a tangle of snakes writhing inside.

I held the ice pack out to him, hoping to convince him to rest his wrist again, but he turned his head away to face the wall and clutched his arm to his chest.

"Just...get...out!" he hissed between clenched teeth. 

"But..." I began, but Yo didn't let me finish. 

"Ming," he said in a low voice, "I think you'd better leave. You're upsetting P'Kit. I'll stay with him until the nurse gets here."

I glanced between the two of them, wondering what I could do to make amends. Kit had closed his eyes and refused to look at me. Yo just pressed his lips together in a thin line and shook his head. I handed the ice pack to Yo before I stood and turned to leave. As Yo began to murmur soothingly to Kit, I closed the door behind me. One last peek in the window revealed that Yo had convinced Kit to reapply the icepack, though his jaw was still clenched in pain. With a deep sigh, I leaned back against the door and slid down until I was sitting, staring blankly at the painted white cinderblock wall on the other side of the hallway.

_What the hell were you thinking, idiot?_ I asked myself.

Even though I tried to play it off as a joke earlier, I was almost as shocked as Kit was at my actions. I've never done anything like that before. It's not something you do without asking first, and I'd never asked anyone. I'm lucky Kit didn't punch me right then and there. He probably would have if he hadn't already been in pain, and I would have let him. You don't just go around kissing people's soul-marks without their permission. It's beyond rude.

I don't know what came over me. I only meant to check the swelling on his wrist. But I swear, something made me lean forward to press a kiss against that mark. A compulsion. Evil spirits. Insanity. I noticed the mark earlier when Wayo removed Kit's sweatband to put the ice pack on, and I was burning with curiosity, as it was the first time I'd ever seen it. When did he get it? Did he know who his soulmate was? Did he know what the shape of the mark meant? Why did he keep it hidden all of the time?

Mine stays hidden most of the time, too, but that's just because it's on the back of my neck, under the collar of my uniform shirt. I don't hide it on purpose...not the way it seems like Kit does. I reached up to rub at my own soul-mark as had become my habit whenever I was stressed and remembered the first time I had met Kit, under similar circumstances.

*****

_(FLASHBACK - FRESHMAN YEAR - MING'S POV)_

"Wayo, where are you?" I snapped into the phone. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry. The bell is about to-"

_CRASH!!!  
_

Before I knew what hit me, I was sprawled on my backside in the middle of the hallway. I'd forgotten to zip my backpack, so half of the contents were spilled across the floor, mingled with the belongings of the boy I had just knocked over in my haste to find my classroom.

"Shiya!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you," I said, making a half-hearted attempt to wai before I began gathering up the books and pens that were scattered around us. Then I glanced up over at the person I'd run into and nearly dropped everything I'd picked up. He was one of the cutest guys I'd ever seen, and from someone who sees my face in the mirror every day, that's saying something.

"Hey there cutie," I said, turning on the charm. "Didn't mean to sweep you off your feet like that."

"Show some respect," a voice behind me said. Two more boys went around me to reach their friend. One of them whacked me on the back of the neck as he passed.

"Kit, are you ok?" one of them asked.

Unlike the boy I had knocked over, him I recognized: Phana, the tenth-grade class president. He'd spoken briefly during the assembly that morning. The rumor was he'd either bribed or threatened most of his classmates into voting for him, although he was handsome enough that I suspected that rumor was completely unfounded. When he pulled his friend to his feet, I realized my mistake: the boy I'd knocked over wasn't my classmate, but theirs.

"I'm fine, Pha," the boy assured his friend. 

I handed him the things I had gathered that belonged to him, including a stack of study sheets that had the name "Kit" written at the top. 

"I'm sorry, P', Kit," I said, and when he appeared startled, I tapped his name on the paper at the top of the stack. "I should have been watching where I was going. Are you sure you're okay?"

Before he could answer, I heard a voice behind me ask, "Ming? What's going on?" and I turned to see Wayo walking towards me.

"Where have you been?" I demanded. "I was counting on you to show me around this morning."

"Sorry, Daddy wanted to drive me to school himself this morning and you know what a bad driver...aow," he trailed off as he noticed the other three boys. "Uh...wha...how..." he paused and swallowed hard, then said "Ming??" in a strangled voice.

_Ugh, Wayo, you can't even finish a sentence in front of him,_ I thought. I glanced from him to Phana and was amused to find him staring at Wayo as if thunderstruck. Wayo ducked behind me to avoid his scrutiny. I heard a soft chuckle and looked over at Phana's friends. One was glancing around at the rest of us with a bewildered expression, but the boy I had knocked over, Kit, had raised his eyes to the ceiling and was laughing softly behind his hand and shaking his head. Mystified, I decided I should introduce us.

"Sawadee, krup. My name is Mingkwan, and this is my friend, Wayo. I apologize for my lack of manners and grace. I just transferred here this year and got lost trying to find my classroom." 

I directed this last remark along with a wink to Kit. Now that I had a better view of him, I could see my earlier assessment was dead on. He was even shorter than Yo, if slightly softer looking. He had eyes that were light, warm brown and reminded me of milk-chocolate, fair skin that looked as if he rarely spent time in the sun, and a set of dimples that gave him a mischievous appearance when he smiled. 

"Sawadee," he answered in unison with his friends, but to my disappointment, his smile melted away when his gaze met mine and then flitted away. He rubbed at one of his hands as if he had injured it during the fall. His friend that wasn't Phana gave him a sharp glance.

"It's ok, no harm done, right Kitty?" he teased, nudging him with his shoulder. 

Kit scowled and muttered, "Ai' Asshole, I've told you not to call me that!" He aimed a kick at his friend, which the darker haired boy easily dodged, laughing. Then he stepped forward to introduce himself.

"I'm Beam, and these are my friends Phana and Kit. Did you need help finding your way around?" he asked.

I looked over my shoulder at Wayo, who shook his head so hard I was afraid his glasses might fly off his face. "No, thank you, P' Beam," I said. "Now that my friend is here I think I can find my way."

Finally, the boy I had knocked over, Kit, spoke up.

"If you need anything, you can find us later," he said, ignoring me and tilting his head to address Yo, who was peeking around my shoulder. "Our class president is always happy to help out his cute juniors," he added with a smirk and a sly glance at Pha.

But all Pha said was, "You've already wasted enough of our time." Then he grabbed Kit and Beam by the back of their necks. "Let's go, we're late," he growled, propelling them forward. I waited until they had turned the corner to smack Wayo in the back of the neck, the same way his Romeo had smacked me.

"Yo, what are you doing? You had the perfect opportunity to say something to him and you just stood there quivering like a rabbit!"

"Oi, that hurt, you ass!" he complained, punching me in the stomach to punish me. Fortunately, I'd been training in Muay Thai for years and could take a punch. On top of that, my grandmother could hit harder than Wayo. One of these days I needed to help him remedy that problem.

"I don't know what you see in that guy, anyway," I said, rubbing at the back of my neck where Phana had hit me much harder than I had hit Wayo. "He's kind of a jerk. His friends are cute, though. Especially P'Kit. Do you think he likes guys? Younger guys?"

"Ming, shut up!" Wayo hissed, glancing around in a circle to see if anyone was listening.

"Why? What did I say?" I had no idea why he was freaking out; I didn't care if anyone heard me. 

He made one of his sad-eyed puppy faces. "Everyone says that P'Kit is P'Pha's boyfriend. You shouldn't even think about flirting with him."

_It figures,_ I thought, oddly disappointed _. That would explain the smack on the head, then._

But to Wayo I said, "Then maybe we should break them up!" just to get a rise out of him. He smacked me several times with the notebook he was carrying.

"Ai' Ming! Are you crazy? Do you want to die?" he said, but then he stopped and smiled wistfully in the direction Pha had followed. "Do you think we could?"

I just laughed and threw my arm around his shoulders. "Of course we could. I'm Ming Daichapanya. No one withstands the force of my charm and good looks!" I ruffled the top of his head and added, "Not even you!"

He shoved me away, laughing. "Yuck, you're so conceited, you dick. Come on, our classroom is on another hallway."

While we walked, I continued rubbing at the back of my neck, which still stung like a bitch where Phana had smacked me.

A week later we were at the football field during lunch break when Wayo yanked down on the collar of my t-shirt. 

"Shiya, Ming! Why didn't you tell me you got a soul-mark?" he whined.

"What are you talking about? Where?" I craned my neck to try and peer over my shoulder, but I couldn't see anything.

"Hold on." Yo fished his camera out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the back of my neck to show me.

"It's so cute!" he said, angling the screen towards me. "See?"

I could just barely make out the faint outline of a small heart surrounded by three straight lines projecting out from either side of it.

"Do you know who it is?"

I shook my head, bewildered. "I have no idea. I didn't even know it was there. It could be anyone I've met since school started. I think you or Mae would have noticed if I'd had one before then."

_(end of flashback)_

*****

I kind of went a little crazy after that. Any girl that confessed to me, I went out with, at least for a little while, just to see if she might be the one. But when it came down to asking someone to kiss the back of my neck...I couldn't do it. I never found anyone I was interested in enough to want them to be my soulmate. 

No one understands exactly how soul-marks work. They show up twenty-four hours after you meet your soulmate for the first time, but only as a gray outline. They don't fill in with color until the first time your soulmate kisses the mark. There are scientists who yap a lot of mumbo jumbo about pheromones and compatible chemistry. And the psychics of the world prattle on about destiny and two halves of the same spirit. I'm not sure I buy that, either, but I think it may be closer to the mark. If there is any proof in the world that magic exists, soul-marks are probably it.

To me, it just means there is someone out there waiting for me to find them - someone who will love me for me, despite my flaws and shortcomings. Honestly, I'm surprised it's not Wayo. If there is anyone on this planet who loves me, flaws and all, it's him. But if it was, the mark would have shown up a long time ago. We've been best friends since before grade school because our parents were friends, but this year was the first time we've gone to the same school.

Wayo's mark showed up a few days after his first day of seventh grade. He's positive it's because he met Phana that day; he's been talking about how handsome Pha is ever since. You'd think Yo would try to find a way to tell Phana about it and just ask him to kiss his mark, but so far he hasn't even been able to work up the nerve just to speak to him. It doesn't help that if there is a bigger playboy in the school than me...it's P'Pha, or that the kids that aren't in love with him are afraid of him. He has a reputation for being a bit of a delinquent.

The thing is...soul-marks aren't really a guarantee that your soulmate will feel the same way about you. I've even heard of soulmates that hated each other, but there's a reason people say that hate and love are opposite sides of the same coin. Some people even ask their soulmate to kiss their mark, only to find that when they kiss their soulmate's mark too, nothing happens. 

Unrequited love is a bitch.

The sound of heels clacking rapidly against the tile floor yanked me out of my memories. I raised my head from my knees to see the nurse hurrying back to the infirmary, so I stood to greet her.

"Ming? What are you doing out here? Is Kit inside?"

"He is, khrub. Wayo is keeping him company."

She didn't waste any more time speaking to me and instead slid the door open, barreling through it without bothering to shut it behind her. I stood there in the doorway, watching. P'Kit's eyes were closed again; he didn't appear to notice me there. Beads of sweat had gathered on his forehead, and Wayo was dabbing at them with a damp cloth, murmuring to him in a soft voice I was unable to overhear.

I knew I probably shouldn't, but I went back inside anyway and, after seeing Wayo had claimed the only chair, stood awkwardly next to Kit's bed on the opposite side. When the nurse lifted the ice pack off his wrist and to examine it, Kit flinched and drew in a deep breath. Before I realized what I was doing, I was seated next to him on the bed with my hand in his uninjured one and our fingers laced together. He didn't bother opening his eyes, but he squeezed so hard I felt my knuckles pop.

"I'm really sorry, P'Kit," I murmured. "I hope you can forgive me."

He didn't say anything, but he nodded faintly and squeezed a little harder before allowing his hand to relax in mine and his head to rest against my shoulder as he exhaled slowly. The nurse took a good look at his face, which at this point was gray with pain and exhaustion. 

"I'm sorry, Kit, but I think you've fractured your wrist. You'll need to go to the hospital for an MRI."

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Chapter title from Shakespeare's Sonnet 140. I've done my best to proofread this chapter, but if you spot any errors please let me know, especially if it pertains to language/culture. Thank you to everyone who has read/commented/left kudos! 
> 
> Also...I'm keeping Kit's dimples, even if Nine doesn't have them.
> 
> (duplicated from Wattpad exactly as I originally posted)


	4. What Strong Hand Can Hold

_KIT POV_

I tried not to complain as the nurse bustled about checking my vital signs. I've never been good at dealing with pain. She made Ming let go long of my hand so she could slip a blood pressure cuff onto my arm and a thermometer in my mouth. She patted me on the shoulder and then walked over to a locked metal cabinet located beside her office door, keys jingling as she pulled them out of her pocket.

Beside me, the portable machine hummed loudly as the cuff tightened around my arm, then went through its cycle of clicking and loosening until it released and a set of numbers flash on the display.

"Looks like you're not dead just yet, P'Kit," Ming joked as he read the numbers, all of which were little higher than usual, but that was probably due to stress. I refused to think that Ming had any effect on my pulse rate.

"Shut up, idiot," I mumbled around the thermometer, which was still under my tongue. I could feel myself blushing again. Of all people to faint in front of...why Ming?

He nodded, making a zipping motion across his mouth. Then he took the thermometer, which had finished its reading, and set it on top of the machine. When he studied my face, his brow wrinkled from concern.

"P'Kit, you aren't going to faint again, are you?" he asked.

I shook my head and closed my eyes again, just to avoid his gaze. The concerned expression on his face was doing strange, fluttery things to my insides. Fortunately, the nurse returned then with the supplies she had retrieved from the cabinet. At Ming's remark, she pressed the back of her hand against my forehead.

"Are you hanging in there, Kit?"

"Yes, khrub. I'm okay."

I wasn't, but it's a guy thing. We could be missing a limb and we would still call it a flesh wound, nothing to be worried over. The nurse made a scoffing noise as if she didn't believe me. I guess she was used to stoic teenaged boys who were clearly lying through their teeth. She handed Ming a fresh bottle of water and a medicine cup containing two white tablets.

"Help him take those," she instructed. "I need to try and get in touch with his parents, and then I'll be back to put a splint on that wrist."

"You probably won't be able to reach my parents, khrub. They're at a conference in Singapore until the weekend. But you can probably reach my older brother at work. He should be listed in my record as one of my emergency contacts."

"Okay, I'll try him, then." She turned to go but I stopped her with a question. 

"What kind of medicine is this?"

"It's just acetaminophen. It won't do much, but it may help take the edge off the pain until they can get you sorted at the hospital," she explained and gave me a reassuring smile. Then she gestured with her finger for Ming to give me the tablets before she _clack-clacked_ in her high heels over to the door of her small office, where she sat at her desk and picked up the phone receiver.

Ming twisted the cap off the bottle and offered it to me, waiting until I had taken a long swig before he exchanged it for the tablets. After I swallowed, he handed me the water again to wash the bitter taste away. I held onto the bottle and took a sip now and then just to have something to do besides contemplating the woodsy scent of his cologne or shampoo, which disguised the odors of antiseptic and latex that permeated the infirmary.

_Shiya_. I'd never spent this much time sitting close to him before. I prayed the nurse would return soon. If she didn't, I was afraid I might do something stupid to embarrass myself, like ask Ming to hold my hand again. I shut my eyes again to try and forget he was there, but it was hard to ignore the comfortable warmth of his side pressed against mine.

"P' Kit?" a voice murmured in my ear. I must have drifted off for a bit because Ming was gently shaking my shoulder. "Are you still with us?"

I glanced around to see that the nurse had returned with what looked like a brace for my wrist and a sling.

"Are you ready?" she asked. "We need to stabilize your wrist before we see about getting you to a hospital."

I nodded, gritting my teeth as I took a deep breath. Other than a brief, sharp _snap_ , I hadn't felt much pain after that bastard knocked me down in the gym. Maybe I had been too distracted by he-who-is-too-handsome-to-be-named. Now I couldn't move my fingers without flinching, and I couldn't move my thumb at all. The nurse had me elevate my arm enough that she could slip the splint underneath it. I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped as she began easing the first strap closed.

Then Ming slipped his hand back into mine and laced our fingers together again, giving them a slight squeeze. Wayo made a soft noise halfway between choking and throat-clearing, and I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was struggling to hide his smile. When he realized I was giving him the evil eye, he shrugged and glanced innocently up towards the ceiling as if he hadn't seen anything.

Concentrating on Ming's fingers threaded between mine seemed to help as the nurse adjusted the straps so that the splint was snug enough to prevent movement of my wrist, but not tight. At one point I think I may have squeezed Ming's fingers hard enough he was probably in almost as much pain as I was, but he didn't complain.

"Almost done," the nurse said as she picked up the sling again. "Just slip this on for me so you don't jostle your arm too much on the ride to the hospital."

She helped me put my arm through the opening in the sling. Then Ming tugged forward on my hand so I would sit upright to allow the nurse to slip the strap over my neck and around my back. Just as she finished clipping the strap in place, Pha and Beam barreled through the doorway. 

"Phana, I'm glad you're here," the nurse said. "I just spoke to Kit's older brother. He's held up at work, but he gave permission for you to take Kit to the hospital and said he will meet you there as soon as he can. I just need to print some paperwork to send with you."

"Yes, khrub," Pha answered. "Thanks for taking care of him."

"Of course. Be patient for just a few more minutes, Kit."

I nodded. My head was beginning to ache from the stress of the afternoon, and the sooner we could leave the better. 

After the nurse returned to her office, Pha turned his attention to Wayo and Ming on either side of me. His eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on my hand in Ming's, then they flicked upward to meet mine. One of his eyebrows raised to form a silent question, which I disregarded in favor of reclining again. Wayo moved to adjust the pillow that had slipped down too far so that my head wasn't resting on the frame of the bed. From the adjusted angle, the fluorescent lights were glaring in my eyes so I closed them again.

After a moment I heard the faint whisper of clothing and opened my eyes again to see that Pha had folded his arms against his chest and was now glaring at Ming along with Beam. When Ming didn't react, Pha shifted his focus to the boy on my other side who was actively ignoring him by occasionally dabbing at the cold sweat that dotted my forehead. However, Wayo's cheeks were now glowing a bubblegum pink color that made me want to pinch one of them. 

Beam nudged Pha, but Pha feigned ignorance and instead walked over to the table at the foot of the hospital bed, where he picked up the nurse's clipboard and began scanning over the notes she had entered on the patient log. Beam rolled his eyes and walked over to where Wayo was seated beside the bed. Pha's gaze followed; he was now just pretending to read while he was surreptitiously watching the younger boy.

Beam waited for a moment, but when Wayo continued fussing with me, he reached out and tapped the boy gently on the shoulder. Wayo flinched but turned his head up to face Beam with wide eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of our friend, Nong. We really appreciate it," Beam said, giving him one of his most charming smiles. Wayo flushed further and quickly peeked over at Pha. When he caught Pha's gaze, he swallowed hard and turned back to Beam. Finally, he nodded.

"Um, it...it's no p-problem, P'Beam," he stuttered. "I'm glad we could help."

Then Beam did exactly what I had wanted to since I'd awakened in the infirmary: he reached out and lightly pinched one of Wayo's round cheeks.

"Ai' Beam!" Pha barked as he let the clipboard fall back onto the table with a clatter.

"What? He's being so cute right now I couldn't help myself," he explained, giving me a wink as he propped his elbow on Wayo's shoulder and shot Pha a challenging look.

Pha fumed silently for a moment before he managed to growl, "Maybe Nong thinks you're being overly familiar with him, Beam."

"Do you think so?" Beam said, his voice dripping with gleeful sarcasm, ever the troublemaker. He looked down at Wayo, who looked as if he wanted to disappear into the floor. "In that case, I'm very sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Nong Wayo."

He still hadn't moved his elbow from Wayo's shoulder.

Wayo blinked owlishly at Beam, then at Pha, then at Beam again. The sight was enough to make me turn my head to catch Ming's eye. When he wiggled his eyebrows I accidentally raised my injured hand to cover my helpless snicker, which I regretted immediately as shooting pains radiated up my arm from my wrist. I gasped at the pain and squeezed Ming's hand again. He gave a soft grunt, but he didn't let go.

Pha waited for Wayo to say something to rebuke Beam, but poor Wayo could only sit there looking dazed. Instead, Pha made a disgusted "tch" and turned his back on them to cross the room.

"Who won the game?" I asked, hoping to distract him.

Pha and Beam exchanged an unhappy look. "We lost by sixteen points."

"Damn," Ming said. "I should have stayed."

"You would have gone after that bastard that fouled Kit and been kicked out anyway," Beam said. 

This time it was Ming's turn to flush, though his skin was much more tanned than Wayo's so it was only noticeable at the tips of his ears. Ming was a good player, but he was also hot-tempered on the court and sometimes let his impulsive tendencies get the best of him.

"Gin and Tonic played well, but they're inexperienced. With both of you missing, it's a wonder we only lost by that much," Pha said as he stepped over to where Ming was seated next to me. He gestured with his head that Ming should move, but Ming simply tightened his hand in mine and shook his head, refusing to budge. I knew I should probably make him let go and get up, but it felt good to be able to borrow some of his strength for a few minutes.

"Kit," Pha started, but I just turned my head and pressed my forehead into the side of Ming's arm. I'm prone to migraines, and I could feel one looming. My temples were throbbing in time with my wrist, and the smells and lights in the infirmary were beginning to nauseate me.

"Pha, I'm ok. Would you go turn off the lights on this side of the room, please?"

"Sure," he grumbled after a moment, but he did as I asked. Afterward, he returned to the side of the bed where he stood over Ming's shoulder, still glaring at him.

"P'Kit, is there anything else we can get for you?" Wayo asked, having finally overcome his shyness enough to speak. I shook my head, but Beam stepped in.

"Actually, it would be a big help if you could get Kit's books from his locker," he said. Wayo swallowed hard, but he nodded. Beam flashed sourpuss Pha a cocky grin as he fished a notebook and pen from his own bookbag. He hastily scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Wayo.

"Ming, why don't you come with me, na?" Wayo said after his eyes took in Pha's glower. "I think it's best if we let P'Kit's friends take care of him now."

Ming glanced down at me, frowning, but he finally released my hand and stood up, being careful not to jostle the bed.

"We'll be right back," he said. When he hesitated in the doorway, glancing back at the three of us, Wayo looped his arm through his "friend's" and led him away. Trying to figure them out made my head hurt worse. Pha took Ming's spot on the bed while Beam took the chair where Wayo had been sitting.

"Ai' Kitty, what the hell?" Beam asked at the same time Phana said, "Something you want to tell us, Kit?"

"Oh, shut up," I groused. "My hand fucking hurts and I'm probably an hour away from a full-blown migraine. At least he knew when to keep quiet, which is more than I can say for either of you."

Neither of them said a word. Beam busied himself replacing things in his bookbag while Pha just folded his arms across his chest and watched the doorway Wayo and Ming had disappeared through. My hand felt cold now that it was deprived of Ming's warm one, but the thought of asking Pha to hold it instead nearly made me burst into a hysterical fit of giggles. I sighed and allowed my thoughts to drift into nothing until the nurse returned to let us know it was okay for Pha to take me to the hospital.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I've done my best to proofread the chapter before publishing, but please let me know if you spot any errors, especially regarding language/culture. Thank you so much for reading/commenting/leaving kudos!
> 
> Title taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet 65.


	5. Impediments

_MING POV_

By the time we returned to the infirmary, only the nurse was still there; there was no sign of Kit and his friends.

"I'm sorry, they just left. Phana didn't want to wait any longer. But Beam left a note for you." She handed me a slip of paper like the one that had P' Kit's locker combination on it.

_Nongs,_

_Thanks again for looking after P' Kit. If it's not too much trouble, please take his things to his home. I called his sister-in-law to let her know to expect you._

_P' Beam_

Beam had included Kit's address at the bottom. We thanked the nurse and left, walking along the corridor in silence for a few minutes until Wayo couldn't stand it anymore.

"Shiya, Ming, why the hell did you kiss his mark?"

It was the same question I had been asking myself since it happened. And so far, I'd only been able to come up with one explanation.

"I...I guess because...I wanted to."

Wayo started swinging Kit's sports duffel at me, aiming at my back, thighs, knees, butt, anywhere he thought he could reach.

"Bastard, have you gone completely crazy?"

I managed to dodge most of the blows, but Wayo finally caught me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Kit must have been carrying anvils in that thing. He got a few more swats in before I grabbed it from him. Then I leaned over for a moment to catch my breath. He studied me for a moment with a quizzical expression, his head tilted to one side.

"You really like him, don't you?"

I ignored the question and instead straightened up to continue walking. We had reached the front door, which Wayo held open for me as I was now carrying three bags to his one.

I didn't know how to answer him. Do I think he's cute? Of course. Kit is fucking adorable. He's a pint-sized bundle of sound and fury that reminds me of nothing so much as an angry, spitting kitten when he's in a temper. When he smiles I have to restrain the urge to poke one of his dimples with the tip of my finger. But I'd never been able to get much closer to him than exchanging polite greetings. 

Maybe that's part of the attraction. It's not often that people completely ignore me, and it drives me crazy when Kit does. I've tried telling him jokes. I've tried asking him for help with classes I know he's already taken and aced, but his usual response is, "I'm busy. Ask someone else." I joined the basketball team to try and get closer to him. I've even flirted with him.

Lost in thought, I wasn't paying much attention to where we were walking. Wayo suddenly shouted, "Ming, watch out!"

I heard the blare of a car horn and the screech of brakes at the same time I felt a sharp tug at the back of my shirt and realized I was about to step off the curb in front of a car - Phana's sleek, black Audi. Wayo yanked me backward and wrapped his arm around my waist to steady me as Phana glared at us through the windshield. I pressed my hands together and bowed. Kit was in the front passenger seat, not two feet from where I stood on the sidewalk. He glanced up and met my eyes in a moment that seemed to stretch in slow-motion, and as I watched, his gaze dropped to where Wayo's arm was still around my waist. He frowned, then he turned and said something to Pha who scowled even harder as he replied with what I was certain was a curse. He revved the engine and peeled out, tires squealing. I watched until they turned the corner.

Wayo had frozen in place, half-hidden from Phana's furious scrutiny behind my back. Once the car was out of sight he released me and shoved me backward away from the street. 

"What's gotten into you today?" he demanded. "First you act like a mother hen at the game, then you kiss P'Kit, and just now you nearly got yourself killed!"

"I don't know."

And I didn't. I felt completely out of sorts - as if I could fly out of my skin at any moment. It started the moment some asshole fouled Kit on the basketball court, elbowing him hard enough to send him flying. When he didn't immediately get to his feet my heart began to hammer in my chest, drumming loudly enough I was afraid everyone else could hear it. I was hurtling towards him before I realized it.

"Is there something going on between you and P'Kit?" Wayo asked.

I scowled.

"Of course not. You'd know if there was, dumbass." 

_How could there be anything between us when P' Kit usually couldn't be bothered to give me the time of day?_ I thought.

"Oh, fuck you, Ai' Ming!" 

This time when he swung his own bag at me and missed, I caught him in a headlock. 

"I could ask you the same thing," I retorted, squeezing slightly. "It's not like he's ever smiled at me the way he smiles at you. He even let you hold his hand!"

I wasn't actually angry, but I didn't mind teasing him. Wayo had always been a tactile person, more so since his mother had passed away. It was nothing for him to lean against me on the couch while we watched TV or read comics, and sometimes his need for reassurance overrode his natural shyness. It probably surprised Kit more than it surprised me when Wayo had reached for his hand.

The jealousy I felt had surprised me a lot, however.

"Let go, you bastard!" I did so because I wasn't trying to hurt him. When he straightened, he was rubbing at his neck, his face bright red. "He let you hold his hand too!"

"Only because he was out of his mind with pain by then," I scoffed.

"Either way, don't be ridiculous. You know it's only ever going to be Phana for me." With this, his expression dimmed. Sometimes I wished he could get over Pha and choose someone who would return his feelings.

"I still don't know what you see in that jerk. P'Kit's way cuter," I grumbled.

"He is cute," Wayo agreed. "But he's not my soulmate." He paused, then asked in a softer voice, "Do you think he might be yours? Is that why you kissed him?"

His question caused the same swooping sensation in my belly that I feel on a roller coaster at the top of the largest hill, just as the carriage begins to tip over the apex and into freefall. I wondered what Kit's soul-mark would look like in full color - and I wondered if maybe tomorrow it would be. I turned away and took a couple of deep breaths until the queasy feeling subsided. Then I looked down and remembered I was carrying P'Kit's bags.

"I don't know. But I think maybe I'd like to find out. Let's go, it's getting late and we still need to drop these off at P'Kit's house."

Kit's home wasn't far from our school, but far enough that walking wasn't practical. One of Kit's parents or someone else from his household usually dropped him off and picked him up from school each day. This year he had begun catching a ride with P'Pha occasionally, who was now old enough to drive. It didn't take long to get to Kit's home by taxi. Wayo refused to take a bus, of course, pampered little prince that he is.

You couldn't exactly call it a house. It was more of an estate, similar to Wayo's, with a huge, two-story house surrounded by a lush, well-manicured garden that was enclosed by a wrought iron fence. Off to one side was a detached garage, and in the middle of the garden was a large koi pond with a waterfall. The people who lived here obviously had money - probably the kind of money that goes back a couple of generations. When I rang the bell at the gate my mouth suddenly went dry as I explained to the person that answered who we were and the reason for our visit. After a few minutes, a man in a uniform showed up and ushered us up the driveway and into the foyer, where we were met by a woman with a smiling, friendly face.

"Sawatdee, khrub," Wayo and I said in unison.

I continued, "We're friends of P'Kit's from school. I'm Mingkwan Daichapanya and this is Wayo Panichayasawad."

It's rare to meet someone who doesn't show at least some surprise, if not outright awe when they hear Wayo's last name, as his family name is well-recognized as one of the richest in Thailand. But all she did was lift one eyebrow before she returned the greeting with a smile.

"Sawatdee, kha."

"P'Beam asked us to drop these things off for P'Kit," I explained, holding up Kit's bookbag and sports duffel.

"Of course, Beam called to let us know someone would be stopping by. I'm Kit's sister-in-law, Savitra. How is he doing, do you know?"

"The nurse thinks he may have broken his wrist," I replied, "but there's no way to know for certain without an x-ray."

"Poor Kit. That must be painful. I hope he doesn't have to stay overnight in the hospital, he dislikes them so," she fretted. "Please, won't you come and sit for a few minutes? We were just about to have tea. I'd like it very much if you would join us."

"We should probably get going," Wayo began, but I interrupted with, "But we would be happy to join you, if it's no trouble."

As we followed her past a polished, curved staircase, Wayo made another "are you crazy?" face at me, which I ignored, giving him a light shove. I wasn't about to give up the chance to see what P' Kit's home looked like. 

Khun Savitra showed us into a comfortable looking sitting room furnished with a well-worn sofa and loveseat upholstered in caramel-colored, buttery leather along with a matching, over-stuffed armchair. An elderly woman with short, silvery hair was seated in the latter, where she had been working at some type of needlework. However, she had nodded off at some point and remained undisturbed by our entry.

"I was just about to bring everything out here. I'll be back in a moment," Kit's sister-in-law said, as she gestured toward the sofa. "Please, make yourselves at home."

While she wandered into the kitchen, Wayo and I shared a perplexed look as we hesitated to make any noise that might startle the elderly woman - presumably Kit's grandmother.

"D'you think we should wake her?" Wayo leaned over and muttered to me.

I just shook my head and settled onto the sofa as quietly as I could, taking in the surroundings as I did so. Two of the walls contained bookcases that almost reached the exposed beams in the ceiling and were filled with books and knickknacks. A third was filled with floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto the back lawn. The floor was made of the same highly polished wood as the staircase and partially covered with a plush, gray rug.

As I was wondering if Kit had read any of the books on the shelves, Wayo sneezed with a loud "Choo!" When I glared at him, he glared back. Then he sneezed three more times in rapid succession. When he was finished, he shrugged helplessly with a shake of his head.

Naturally, the elderly lady's eyes fluttered open. Wayo and I stood again to greet her.

"Sawatdee, khrub," Wayo said. "We're friends of P'Kit's from school."

When the woman looked up at Wayo she smiled and nodded. But when her gaze fell on me, she tilted her head to one side with a small frown. Then she placed her needlework on the end table next to her chair before she stood and walked towards me, her back slightly hunched the way it does in old age. The top of her head barely cleared the center of my chest when she stopped in front of me and gazed upwards to get a better look at my face. She spoke to me softly in Chinese, most of which I didn't recognize, but two words stood out among a few of the others I recognized: strong and bright.

Or rather, ming and kwan. I hadn't given this grandmother my name, but somehow she seemed to know it anyway. To my surprise, she took one of my hands in between both of hers and patted it.

"My little Kit is very lucky," she said, with a smile that was very like Kit's in his few, unguarded moments - sweet and slightly mischievous. She even had the same dimples.

"Thank you, grandma. But we're the ones who are lucky to have P' Kit as our senior."

I wondered if she had mistaken me for Phana or Beam. Maybe her utterance of the syllables that made up my name was a coincidence. I suppose some people might describe Pha as strong and bright rather than bad-tempered and soft. I wasn't one of them, of course. Pha may be attractive in a certain light, but that bastard rarely cracked a smile at anyone, and I was pretty sure I could run circles around him, on the court or off.

Unfortunately, none of that seemed to matter to Kit.

_______________  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: When I wrote this chapter, it was twice as long as this, so I split it in half and will post the second part next Sunday. Which means this part turned out to be a "not much happened" transitional kind of chapter. Thank you for reading/commenting/kudos (Is it just me or is hitting the Publish button really hard some days??!)
> 
> (chapter title is from Shakespeare sonnet # 116: "Let me not, to the marriage of true minds, admit impediments." Unfortunately...Kit and Ming are bound to run into some impediments!)


	6. A Quest of Thoughts

_(MING POV cont)_

Before I could say anything, Kit's sister-in-law returned, bearing a tray laden with cups and a teapot, as well as an assortment of sweets.

"Grandmother, some of Kit's friends are here to have tea with us," Khun Savitra said.

Kit's grandma nodded and then returned to her chair and picked up the needlework she had set aside, concentrating on it as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Khun Savitra had taken the chair closest to me, and she leaned closer to me and spoke in a near-whisper:

"She must like you. She doesn't often say much to anyone outside of close friends and family," she added, giving me a calculating look. "How did you say you know Kit?"

"We're his juniors from school, khrub," Wayo spoke finally. "We were at the basketball game when the accident happened."

"Oh, are you on the team?"

Wayo blushed slightly. "No, khrub. At least, I'm not, but Ming is."

"Really? What position?"

"Power forward," I answered. Phana was the center; Beam was the small forward, and Kit was the point guard, which he excelled at, being nimble, observant, and extremely bossy on the court.

"I've been meaning to come and watch a game but I often stay home to keep Grandma company. I'll have to make an effort to catch one before the season is over."

"I'm sure P' Kit would be thrilled to have all his family members support him," I said. I'd seen how happy it made him when his parents were cheering in the audience. There was sometimes another man watching instead, one with a sour face who rarely cheered but had a proud gleam in his eye whenever Kit scored. I guessed it must be his older brother, which would probably make him this sister-in-law's husband.

Wayo and I sipped our tea and devoured the sweets she offered as we chatted. When I reached for a third piece of cake, Wayo slapped at my hand.

"Ming, it's getting late," he said, baring his teeth in a fake smile while his eyes shot daggers at me. "Don't you think we should get going before our parents report their missing children to the police?"

That was an excuse; we had already called our parents to let them know we would be late that day, but I withdrew my hand anyway. He had a point; I didn't want us to overstay our welcome.

"Before you go, would you like to Kit's things upstairs to his room?" Kit's sister-in-law asked.

"Of course, khrub," I replied. "Which door is his?"

"It's the first on the right."

Wayo followed me up the stairs, protesting the entire time that what we were doing, going into Kit's room without his permission, was wrong and that Kit would be pissed when he found out.

"Ai' Yo, we won't be there but a few seconds. Stop bitching and either come on or wait downstairs," I snapped.

"No way," he said, climbing the stairs two at a time to keep up with me. "I know you, Ai' Ming. If you go in there alone you'll do something creepy."

Kit's room was fastidiously kept. His double bed was made with a blue-and-white striped spread that was pulled taut into hospital corners, and the pillows looked like they had been fluffed that morning. I was tempted to flop myself onto it, just for a moment, but Wayo was right - that would probably be a little creepy. There were two other doors besides the one that led from the hallway, one likely a closet and the other a bathroom. A computer desk monopolized one corner of the room while a tall bookshelf took up most of the wall next to it. To my surprise, some of my favorite books were there, as well as every published volume of Wayo's own beloved One Piece manga.

Yet another wall contained a floor to ceiling corkboard. To this Kit had attached all kinds of odds and ends - ribbons from competitions, ticket stubs, scraps of paper, and lots of pictures. Many were of his family, but some of them were of himself with either Phana or Beam or all three of them together. Three that especially caught my eye were in the center of the jumble: photos that had been taken in front of the Eiffel Tower, probably as recently as last summer. In the first, Pha was simply leaning against Beam with his elbow propped on his shoulder while Beam framed his own chin between his thumb and forefinger and winked. In the second, Beam and Kit were standing side by side, both making rabbit ears behind each other's heads as they made kissy faces at the camera.

It was the third photo in the center of the other two that made my breath catch in my throat. Phana was holding Kit in his arms princess style, with a warm, toothy grin that softened his features and lit his eyes as he gazed at Kit, who had wrapped his arms around Pha's neck. Kit's own eyes were fixed on Pha's face, and his mouth was open with laughter as if they shared some private joke that not even the photographer, Beam, was privy to.

Something deep inside my chest began to ache as I studied Kit's laughing face. He had never once looked at me the way he was looking at Phana in that picture. I had intended to leave him a short note wishing him well and apologizing again, but after seeing that photo, I felt that we were intruding, just as Wayo had said. I walked over to the bench at the foot of Kit's bed and dropped his bags onto it with a resounding thump. Then I wheeled back around to where Yo was now standing transfixed in front of the photos, his expression crestfallen. With one hand he reached towards the figure standing in the center photo but stopped just short of touching the glossy paper.

"Yo, we should leave," I muttered, tugging at his sleeve. Finally, he turned and followed without a word. We said our goodbyes to Kit's sister-in-law, who walked us out to the taxi she had called for us. Neither of us said much on the way home until Wayo broke the silence a few blocks from his house.

"I guess it's true," he said, giving voice to what I had already been thinking.

Seeing that picture, it was hard to continue to ignore the rumors that Kit must be Phana's boyfriend, but part of me wanted to deny it anyway.

"It's just a picture," I said. "We don't know anything now that we didn't know already. It's not like they walk around the hallways holding hands or kissing in empty classrooms."

"Maybe they do and no one has ever caught them," Yo retorted.

I smacked him lightly on the back of his shoulder. He promptly punched me in the arm, but at least now he looked a little more like an angry hamster than a kicked puppy.

"Don't you think if there was any evidence to be found that the Great Phana had a boyfriend, the fujoshi club would have posted it all over the internet by now?"

"Mmm," he said. "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe they're just really good at hiding," he theorized, the glum expression he'd been wearing since we left Kit's room still intact.

"You're going to go home and scarf down a buttload of mint chocolate chip, aren't you?" I asked.

"Pralines and cream. Dad ate all the mint chocolate chip last week."

"Don't eat the whole pint. You know it will just make you sick."

He nodded and gave me a wan smile before he climbed out of the cab, which had stopped in front of the huge wrought-iron gate at the end of his driveway. His dad, who was waiting for us, took one look at Yo's forlorn expression and ruffled his hair before sliding his arm around his son's shoulders. He ducked down to peer into the back window of the cab, but I just waved. All I wanted to do was get home and collapse. After a few more blocks I reached my own home. My parents were just sitting down to supper when I walked in.

"There you are, Ming. I didn't think you were going to make it in time. I already asked Poppy to make a plate for you. She's keeping it warm in the oven."

"Thanks, Mae."

I retrieved the plate from the oven and carried it back into the dining room so I could eat with my parents. I wasn't really very hungry after having tea with P'Kit's sister-in-law, however, so I didn't do much more than pick at the food. After a few minutes, my mom scolded me.

"Ming, don't play with your food."

"Sorry, Mae. I'm not as hungry as I thought."

"Is something wrong, sweetie?"

I shook my head. "Not really. One of my seniors was injured at the basketball game today. I guess I'm still a little worried about him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, son," my dad chimed in. "I'm glad you're here. Your mother and I have made plans to spend the weekend with some old friends at their beach house and we'd like you to join us."

"But I have basketball practice on Saturday, and I have some tests next week I need to study for."

"Don't be silly, Mingkwan. You can bring your books along to study, and I'm sure your coach won't mind if you miss a practice. They have a daughter around your age who will be transferring to your school next week."

I glanced from my mom to my dad and caught them giving each other a secretive look.

_Shiya. What is this, a set up?_

"All right," I agreed, though part of me wanted to argue. "I'll let Coach know tomorrow. May I be excused from the table? I have a lot of homework tonight."

"Yes, dear. Study hard."

I bent down to kiss my mom's cheek before I carried my plate back to the kitchen. When I finally managed to drag myself upstairs to my room, I didn't even bother turning on the lights. Instead I heaved a sigh and flopped backwards onto the bed. After I dug my phone out of my pocket, I sent Wayo a message on LINE.

Mingaling: Don't forget, go easy on the ice cream!

OhohohWayo: Oi. I heard you the first time. I didn't eat any. Not hungry.

Mingaling: Too upset?

OhohohWayo: "crying sticker"

OhOhOhWayo: are you going to ask P'Kit if anything happened to his soul mark?

Just thinking about asking him gave me a fluttery feeling in my stomach like one of the stupid girls in the dramas my mom likes to watch. I still couldn't explain exactly what had possessed me to kiss him like that. But when I looked at it, something about that mark made me feel it was supposed to be mine, and the thought of anyone else kissing P'Kit there made me feel as if hot lava was inching its way up my skin.

OhOhOhWayo: Ming? You still there?

Mingaling: Yes. Maybe. I don't know. Should I?

OhOhOhWaYo: You'll never know unless you ask.

He was right, but P'Kit looked so angry after I'd done it. I wasn't sure if I would be able to screw up the courage to ask about it.

OhOhOhWaYo: I didn't realize you liked him that much. I mean, I knew you thought he was cute...but you think lots of guys are cute. Girls, too.

Mingaling: When could I say anything? You're always going on about how hot Phana is.

OhOhOhWayo: Shut up! I am not.

Mingaling: You know you are.

OhOhOhWaYo: Well he is!

Mingaling: I'm hotter.

OhOhOhWaYo: In your dreams, asshole Ming. I have to finish my homework. C U tomorrow.

I thought back to the picture I'd seen of Phana holding Kit in his arms on the corkboard in Kit's room and how happy Kit had looked. Then I thought about his soul-mark. Then I thought about my parents wanting to set up me with some mystery girl. I absently rubbed at the growing ache in my chest that made it hard to breathe and gave up on finishing my English translation homework. Instead, I turned face down on the bed and groaned into my pillow.

_What the hell am I supposed to do now?_

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Thank you very much to everyone who has read/commented/left kudos. As always, please let me know if you spot any errors (especially that are language/culture related)! (this chapter was originally the second part of chapter 4 on Wattpad so I've given it a new name just in case anybody is re-reading - title is from Shakespeare's sonnet # 46)


	7. Maladies Unseen

_KIT'S POV_

"Kit. Kit, are you awake?"

I'm not much of a morning person.

"Ugh. Just let me have ten more minutes, Mae."  
  
I tried to roll over and drag the blanket over my head, but someone pinned me in place with their arm thrown across my chest. My eyes popped open to see Pha's face hovering over mine, shadowed because the lights were off.

"Pha? What are you doing here? Why is it so dark?"

"We're in the emergency room, remember?" He straightened, removing his arm now that I was clear-headed enough to know not to put any pressure on my injured wrist. "And it's dark because you wanted the lights off. They were hurting your eyes."

Right. Wrist. Migraine. Hospital. I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. The sheets and blanket covering me were scratchy and smelled faintly of bleach. The walls were painted white with a thick, horizontal, mint green stripe painted at about waist height. The door and cabinets were the same shade of green, as was the ugly, vinyl chair Beam was sitting in. His knees were drawn up under his chin, his eyes were closed, and his mouth was slightly parted. I think he may have even been drooling. Pha was leaning against the wall next to the bed, where I had been sleeping in a reclining position. I vaguely remembered Beam playing with the buttons on the remote that controlled the angle of the head and foot of the bed before Pha made him stop.

My brother had shown up at the emergency room not long after we had arrived, but once he had taken care of the paperwork I told him I would be okay with Pha and Beam and to go on home where his wife and our grandmother were waiting for him. He was reluctant, but when I pointed out how late it was getting and that we would all be wanting supper, he agreed to go pick up food to have it waiting for me when I got home.

"Want some water?" Pha asked.

"Yes, please."

Pha purposely kicked the chair Beam was sitting in on the way over to the water pitcher, but Beam didn't stir. I think he was even drooling in his sleep. When I drained the cup Pha poured for me, he immediately poured another and placed it on the rolling table next to the bed.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"Ever since we got back from x-ray." He checked his watch and frowned. "Tsch. It's been over an hour already. How long does it take for x-ray film to develop?"

"That depends on how many films are already waiting to be developed," a deep, masculine voice said.

As if Pha's complaint had summoned him, a man in a white coat entered the room. He pulled a couple of x-ray films from a large white envelope and clipped them to the lightboard affixed to the wall before he turned to speak to us.

"Sawatdee, khrub. My name is Doctor Anuwat," he said, giving Pha and Beam a quizzical look.

"Sawatdee, khrub" I answered. "I'm Kit, and these are my friends Pha and Beam." Beam stirred in the chair in reaction to his name and blinked groggily. When he realized the doctor had arrived, he jumped to his feet.

"Sawatdee, khrub," he said along with Pha.

"Is Kit's wrist broken, khrub?" Pha asked.

"I'm afraid so." With a pen he gestured at one of the bones in my wrist, pinpointing a dark space in the white where there shouldn't have been one. "Unfortunately, you have a displaced scaphoid fracture, which can be tricky to heal properly."

"What does that mean?" Pha beat me to the question.

"The best option for proper healing is surgery to realign the bone and secure it with a pin," the doctor explained. I shot Pha a look of alarm as he continued, "We can schedule it for first thing in the morning, around six a.m. I've already made arrangements to admit you."

"Why can't I just wear a cast?" I asked, feeling a little overwhelmed. I hadn't thought I'd be staying overnight, much less having surgery.

"We could try that first, but displacement in the scaphoid makes proper healing less likely with only a cast. Because you play contact sports I recommend doing the surgery as a preemptive measure. You'll wear a splint with a bandage for two weeks after the surgery to allow the incision to heal, then we'll fit you with a cast at a follow-up."

"How long will he be in the cast?" Pha asked.

"At least six weeks, maybe longer. And I'm afraid basketball is out for the rest of the season."

"Shiya," Beam muttered under his breath.

"I understand." And I did, but that didn't mean I was happy about it.

"Good. We'll get you settled in shortly. Any other questions?"

"No, khrub," I answered.

"I'll let his older brother know. Thank you, khrub," Pha said. He picked up his phone as soon as the doctor had left and stepped outside the room to call my family and give them the news.

An hour later, I was finally settled in a room that was very similar to the one in the emergency center, only this one had a window with a view of the city skyline. When Pha called Hia' Kieng and told him about the surgery, my brother wanted to return immediately, but I didn't see the point. Beam had already claimed the chair that could be pulled out to make a cot and was planning on staying overnight, so I told my brother not to come back until just before the surgery the next morning.

"Is there anything you want me to bring you before I go home, Kit?" Pha asked.

"No. Hia' Kieng is going to bring anything I'll need in the morning," I answered. He nodded and turned to go, but I grabbed his sleeve before he could walk away.

"Thanks, Pha."

He smiled and ruffled my hair like I was a little kid. Then he bent to whisper in Beam's ear before he walked out the door.

"I _won't_ ," Beam said with a huff. "Have a little faith, will you?"

"I would, except I know you, Beam. Let him be. He needs to rest."

Pha made the "I'm watching you" gesture at Beam with two fingers (which was impossible, since he was leaving) as he backed out of the door and left.

"What was that all about?"

"Just Pha being a mother hen like always," Beam replied with a shrug. "Guess he thinks I'm gonna give you the third degree about Ming."

"Are you?"

"Probably. But it can wait until after your surgery," he said, glancing at his watch. "Want me to find you something to eat? I'm starving."

"No, thanks." I still hurt too much to have much of an appetite.

"Okay. I'll just grab something from a vending machine, then. Be right back."

A few minutes after he left, a nurse came in to start an IV.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked as she tied a rubber tube around my bicep and began tapping the top of my forearm to find a vein. It's not that I have a fear of needles; I just don't like them. 

"The doctor ordered a dose of antibiotics for you to prevent infection, and the IV is the most effective way to deliver pain medication. Plus, it's important to make sure you stay hydrated before your surgery," the nurse explained. She finally found a spot she liked and swabbed it with an antiseptic wipe just as Beam returned with his snack. He made his way to the opposite side of the bed from the nurse.

"Okay, Kit, just a small pinch," the nurse said.

Beam squeezed my shoulder just as she inserted the needle to distract me.

"All right, Kit?" he asked.

I nodded as the nurse began taping the tubing to my arm to keep it in place. Then she connected it to two bags of fluids, one large and one small, which she'd hung on a rolling pole. Turning to me, she asked, "On a scale of 1 to 10, what's your pain level right now, Khun Kit?"

"Um," I hesitated, "I guess about a five."

Beam made a scoffing noise and took my chin in-between his thumb and first finger. He tilted my face upward to look at him and turned it from side to side, furrowing his brow when I winced. "Ai' Kitty, tell the pretty nurse the truth, please," he said, glancing sideways to give her a wink.

"Fine. A seven. My wrist is throbbing, and the migraine is getting worse."

The nurse nodded and took a syringe from the tray of medical implements she had brought with her. "This should have you feeling better soon," she said, inserting the needle into one of the IV ports. "I'll be back to check your vitals in about an hour. Call if you need anything before then."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I hate hospitals.

"Thank you, khrub," Beam said for me since my exhaustion apparently made me forget my manners. After she left, he dragged the chair over near the head of the bed plopped down into it, where he proceeded to scarf down a candy bar and a bag of chips.

"I brought this back just in case," he said, waving a Kit-Kat bar at me. It was a running joke with them. It also happened to be my favorite. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and it wasn't long until midnight. I wasn't supposed to eat after that.

"Give it here," I said.

He had the presence of mind to unwrap it and snap the pieces apart for me. He refilled the water glass for me, too. While I ate, he pulled his chemistry text out of his backpack and began quizzing me over the material we would be tested on Friday.

"Kit?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Mmm?"

"Why do you keep rubbing at your chest like that?"

I hadn't realized, but he was right. My chest ached, and I had been subconsciously rubbing at it for several minutes.

"Are you having a heart attack? Do I need to call the nurse back?!" Beam said, looking panicked as he stood up and began searching for the call button.

"Idiot Beam...I'm not having a heart attack."

It didn't feel like anything physical...it was more like I felt when I wanted to cry, but I didn't know how to explain that to him, especially when I didn't have a reason to want to cry. As I thought about it, I felt a rush of warmth that unfurled near my heart and spread through my limbs all the way down to my toes. The pain medication had begun to take effect: the throbbing in my wrist and the stabbing behind my eyes began to recede almost immediately. I must have sighed aloud, because Beam glanced at my face and relaxed, forgetting about his momentary panic.

"Meds kick in?"

I nodded. I think I may have smiled, too, because he grinned.

"Feeling better?"

"Much." I inhaled deeply; breathing had suddenly become much easier. "Ai' Beam, I love you."

Beam snorted with laughter that he tried to hide behind his hand and fell back into the chair.

"Uh, thanks?" he said when he could speak again.

I frowned. He didn't sound very grateful.

"But I love Pha better. He's nicer to me."

"Oi, asshole! I'm your best friend!" he protested.

"Nope. You're always borrowing my manga without asking, and you're constantly calling me Kitty no matter how many times I've threatened to kick your ass. Pha is my best friend." I paused and thought about it for a minute. "Except on Tuesdays. I love you best on Tuesdays."

(No, I don't know why Tuesdays. By this time, I was floating around somewhere in the atmosphere of Jupiter. I don't actually remember much of this conversation, but Beam made sure to tell me about it, frequently and in detail, for at least a month after.)

"Whatever, Ai' Kitty. I love you, too. But only on Fridays," he added, pouting.

He dragged the chair closer to the head of the bed and took a seat, then reached to brush my hair out of my eyes where it had flopped over. Then he began stroking my hair as if I were a cat, so I closed my eyes to enjoy it more. It felt nice. Everything felt nice: the whisper of cool air from the aircon on my skin, Beam's hand in my hair, the melty feeling in my toes. I was really happy. For a moment I didn't remember why; I just knew my wrist didn't hurt anymore. Oh, yeah, my wrist. I opened my eyes and turned my head, grinning widely at Beam. He did the same, or maybe he was just laughing at me.

"Ai' Beam, guess what?"

"What is it, Kitty?"

I leaned closer and gestured with my fingers for him to lean closer, too. He stood and bent his head low.

"Ming kissed me!" I whispered.

There was a momentary silence as Beam's amused grin swiftly morphed into a frown. He stood and grabbed the bed railing with both hands. "The fuck did you say?" he barked.

"I said Ming kissed me!" I didn't understand why he seemed so irritated. "Why are you shouting?"

"Sorry," he said, but his grip tightened on the bed railing until his knuckles whitened. "Shiya, Kit, why did you let him do that? You know as well as I do he's the biggest flirt in the school. He's even worse than Ai' Pha!" 

I shrugged.

"I didn't let him. He just did it." 

Beam said nothing in reply but a muscle in his jaw flexed as if he was restraining himself from saying anything further. Then another thought occurred to that I had to share with him.

"Ai'Beam, guess what else?"

"Holy fuck, Kitty, what is it this time?" he asked with a long, impatient sigh.

"I think he's my soulmate," I whispered again, unable to keep from grinning with glee.

"Who?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Ming!"

Beam stared at me for a long moment, as if he was trying to make sense of what I was saying. Then he asked, slowly and clearly, "Kit, _where_ , exactly, did Ming kiss you?"

"In the nurse's office."

Beam rolled his eyes and tugged the lock of hair that had flopped over my eye again, hard enough that I yelped, "Ouch!"

"Ai' Kit," he said, the muscle in his jaw twitching again when he paused, "What I mean is... _where_ _on your body_ did he kiss you?"

I pointed to the wrist with the splint.

"There," I said, pointing to the underside my soul-mark was hidden from sight. "And it was all tingly."

Beam contemplated the splint for a moment with a sober expression that bordered on unhappy. "I wondered why you were letting him hold your hand when we got there. Did you tell him?"

I had to think about that for a moment, but I finally shook my head.

"I don't think so."

"Good. Don't say anything until you're sure."

"Okay. Hey, Beam, guess what else?" I was starting to feel sleepy, and my mouth felt a little fuzzy.

"What now, Kitty?"

"Ming is really, really hot." I let my head loll back against the bed and gazed up at the ceiling, picturing Ming's dark eyes and crooked smile as I made this confession. 

Beam sighed again.

"I know, Kit. Everybody knows that. Especially Ming."

I turned my head to face Beam again. "Ai' Beam, if I was ever going to have a crush on a guy, it would be him."

"Kit..." He began, finally giving me a rueful smile. "I'm pretty sure you already do."

"I know," I agreed, suddenly feeling as if I was crashing to the ground. "I have for a long time."

Fortunately, I picked that moment to drift away as sleep finally claimed me.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Same old, same old - although I do my best to proofread before I post, please let me know if you spot any errors while reading, especially if they are related to Thai culture/language. Thank you very much to everyone for reading/commenting/kudos!
> 
> Title taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet #118.


	8. Though Waiting So Be Hell

_KIT'S POV - THE HOSPITAL @ 6 A.M._

I studied the mark on my wrist after a nurse removed the split from my hand during the surgery prep. It was still only a faint gray outline, but I'd always heard that color changes took twenty-four hours to show up. Still, I wondered if it was possible I'd been wrong about Ming.

"Kit, we're starting the anesthesia now. Start counting back from 100 for me."

No, I didn't think I was wrong. I remembered the day my mark had originally shown up as clearly as if it was yesterday. I blinked and the mark turned slightly blurry as I began counting.

"100, 99...98...97....96...."

_FLASHBACK - KIT'S SOPHOMORE YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL_

The mark wasn't there when I woke up that morning. But when I took off my watch in order to wash my hands in the bathroom during lunch, I was surprised to see a faint gray outline of what looked like the sun emblazoned on the underside of my wrist. Unfortunately, Beam noticed it right away.

"Kitty! You got a soul-mark? Why didn't you tell me?" he said, grabbing my wrist and flipping it upwards to take a closer look. I yanked my hand away and elbowed him in the ribs for being so damn nosy, which just made him grin.

"It didn't seem that important. And stop calling me Kitty!" I said, hoping he would drop the subject. Of course, this is Beam we're talking about. He's like a dog with a bone. Once he sinks his teeth into something, he won't let go, unless you distract him with a squirrel.

"No way. It's too much fun," he said, flicking his wet fingers at me. In retaliation, I covered the faucet with my hand, aiming a jet of water at him. He shouted and tried to dodge, but not before the stream hit him directly in the face.

"Fuck you, Kit!" he fumed, his face, hair, and the front of his shirt now dripping wet. "What the hell was that for?"

"Mostly cause you're an asshole," I said, laughing as he stomped over to yank a few paper towels from the dispenser. He began furiously rubbing at soaked the strands of hair covering his forehead as I finished washing my hands.

While he was distracted, I took a moment to take a closer look at the mark. It was hard to tell much without the color, but it looked almost like a child's drawing of the sun - a circle in the center with rays pointing outward. Only at the same time, it looked as if the sun was also a yin and yang symbol, but with uneven circles on either side, one being noticeably larger than the other. I rubbed my thumb across the mark, but it didn't feel any different than the rest of my skin, which seemed odd. I guess I expected it to be slightly raised or something.

By this time, Beam had finished drying himself and was watching as I fastened my watch around my wrist with the face on the underside. The circle was just large enough to hide the mark completely from view, even should anyone happen to get a close look. Beam quirked an eyebrow at me.

"You never wear your watch like that, ever since you broke the one that belonged to your grandfather," he mused. "Are you trying to hide your mark? What for?"

"It's just not something I want to make a big deal of, okay?" I snapped. He backed away a couple of steps, holding his hands up as if to ward a potential attack.

"Okay, okay, I was just asking." He finished drying his hands and followed me until we reached our classroom. Phana was waiting for us, having finished his school council meeting during the lunch break. Our favorite juvenile delinquent had completely turned over a new leaf this year: he was president of the sophomore class, had joined the basketball team (and bullied us into joining with him) and had volunteered for the Sports Day planning committee (and bullied us into volunteering, too).

"When did you get it?" Beam asked.

"Get what?" Pha said from his seat in the window.

"Kitty has a soulmark," Beam said, unable to contain his glee. Honestly, he was more excited about it than I was. Not that I was excited at all. In fact, I kind of felt a sense of dread, the same as I'd felt any time I'd ever wondered when or even if I would get a soulmark.

"No shit?" Pha asked.

Pha has had a soul-mark for almost a year now. His is smack in the center of his cheek and is shaped like a full moon peeping from behind a cloud with three curved lines radiating out from one side. A lot of people have their soul-mark there, I guess because being kissed on the cheek by someone you love is pretty common. Still - it just means you're walking around with it on display for all the world to see. I couldn't count the number of girls who asked Pha if they could kiss his soul-mark. If I were him, I might start wearing concealer over it, just to fend them off.

"Ai' Kit, show him!"

"Shut up, Beam," I muttered. "I said I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

I hoped he'd finally get the message that I really didn't want to talk about it, but sometimes Beam is about as sharp as a spoon and twice as dense.

Pha slid down off the windowsill and hovered over me, scrutinizing every detail. As I feared, he noticed the watch. Without a word, he grabbed my hand, unbuckled my watch, and flipped my wrist up to reveal the gray outline I had been examining earlier.

"Pretty," he remarked. "Any idea who it is?"

"It wasn't there this morning," I said.

"So it was someone you met yesterday?" Beam asked. "Some of the freshman girls are super hot," he added with a leer.

And yet, not a single one of them stood out in my memory as much as the freshman boy I'd run into in the hall yesterday. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks again just as it had when he'd winked at me. Pha must have noticed because his eyes narrowed as he re-fastened my watch.

"Beam, he said he doesn't want to talk about it. Shut the fuck up."

Beam, of course, completely ignored him, still chattering away as he pulled his chair out to sit down.

"Ai' Kit, did you see the new girl in class 2 with the really big..."

_THUNK_

_"Shiya! Ai' Pha!"_

Pha had kicked Beam's chair out from under him just as he'd started to sit. Beam hit the floor hard and lay sprawled there, momentarily dazed. Then he leaped up and flew at Pha, determined to get payback. What he got instead was detention for fighting, and Pha along with him, so I went home by myself that day. Mae was waiting for me in the car outside. Just as I opened the passenger door, a tall figure propped against one of the brick columns that supported the roof of the breezeway caught my eye.

It was the freshman who had knocked me over. Ming. And he was chatting with a sophomore girl. As I watched, she casually laid her hand on his bicep and gave him a coy smile as she glanced up at him from under her lashes. The boy chucked her under the chin with his finger, which made her giggle. But then he glanced away from her and over at me. When our eyes met, I panicked, embarrassed to have been caught spying.

"P' Kit?" I heard him call, but I was already in the car and slammed the door, startling my mom.

"Kit, honey? Is something wrong?"

"No, Mae. There's nothing. Let's go home."

I didn't have the courage to look back and see for myself whether Ming had thought my behavior strange. Instead, I pressed my flaming cheek against the cool glass of the window and closed my eyes, praying to whomever might be listening.

_Not him. Please don't let it be him._

Grandma was waiting for me in the kitchen with a snack when I got home. She sat with me and watched as I ate quietly. I usually tell her about my day, but that day I wasn't interested in talking. I knew she could probably tell something was wrong; she's always been more intuitive than anyone else in the family. My mom even thinks she's some kind of psychic. I think she just got used to being observant when she immigrated from China as a new bride and couldn't speak the language. I put the dishes into the dishwasher and was about to go up to my room to get started on my homework when she stopped me by tugging on my sleeve.

"Kit, I need to pick up a few things from the market. Why don't you come with me? You can carry the shopping bags."

Her request wasn't out of the ordinary, but Grandma usually asked my oldest brother's wife, Savitra, to help her with any shopping she wanted to do. They get along well, and Savitra enjoys haggling with vendors as much as Grandma does. But I wasn't looking forward to my homework anyway, and I like spending time with my Grandma, so I was happy to go with her. We took a bus over to Khlong Toei Market because she said she wanted to find some fresh papayas for supper the next day. I stood in the background as she argued with the merchant over the price. When she was done she was smiling a self-satisfied smile, bags of fruit in hand, while the vendor was shaking his head as if he knew he'd got the short end of the stick.

Some of my bad mood began to lift as we wandered arm-in-arm past tables laden with every fruit and vegetable imaginable. When we passed by a stall selling pork skewers, my stomach growled loudly as I inhaled the spicy aroma of grilled meat, so I bought several to share.

"You've been very quiet this afternoon, my little Kit. What's bothering you?" she asked after she had finished her portion. I stalled for a moment by wiping the grease from my fingers and finding a trash can to toss the waste into.

Now I understood why she'd brought me here - so she could get to the bottom of my distress without anyone else listening in. While it wouldn't be right to say that I'm her favorite grandchild, I'm the youngest, so she dotes on me more than my older siblings or any of my cousins.

I unfastened my watch and showed her the underside of my wrist.

"It showed up this morning," I explained.

She pulled me over to one of the brightly lit stalls and adjusted her glasses so she could take a closer look.

"I see," she said, but she sounded as if she didn't. "This is what you're upset about?"

"Not...exactly."

"Do you know who it is?"

I shook my head from side to side and covered the mark with my watch again, tugging her along to walk with me so I didn't have to face her scrutiny.

"I met a lot of people yesterday," I hedged. "It could be anyone." But there's no getting anything past my grandma. She pounced on the fact I'd said "people," and not "girls."

"You must have someone in mind, or you wouldn't look as if someone had stolen your puppy," she said with a mischievous smile. When I didn't answer, she added, "Is he handsome?"

"Grandma!"

I felt as if someone had punched me in the diaphragm and all the breath had whooshed out of my lungs. I had to stop for a moment, bending at the waist with my hands braced on my thighs to take a few deep breaths. I'd never, ever told anyone that I was attracted to boys instead of girls. The thought that someone, even my own grandma, had seen through me, was enough to make me lightheaded. When I straightened again, she just shrugged.

"Little Kit, I may be old, but I'm not ignorant about the ways of the world. Your father and older brothers both were in and out of love half a dozen times by the time they reached your age. Each time they chattered away about whatever girl they had decided they couldn't live without that month."

At that moment, a really cute guy walked by and winked at me. He was tall and had large, dark eyes with long lashes and reminded me a little bit of Ming. I couldn't help but smile in return, blushing like a girl as I did so.

"And it hasn't escaped my notice that your eye tends to follow pretty young men rather than pretty young ladies," she teased, but then she sobered. "You've always reminded me a bit of my older brother."

Her brother had died young, not long after he'd graduated from university. She rarely spoke of him, even though I knew they'd been close. I always thought he had died in the Asian Flu epidemic in the late 50's, but something about the way she said I reminded her of him made me wonder if I'd been led to believe something that wasn't true. She patted one of my hands between both of hers.

"That's another story for another time. For now, why don't you tell me about him?"

I pulled my hand away and wrapped my arm around her shoulders instead, guiding her past the stalls. As I suspected, she wasn't really interested in shopping; she didn't bother looking at anything else and instead was watching me, patiently waiting for a reply. Finally, I gave in.

"Uuugggggh. Okay, okay. Yes, Grandma. He's handsome!"

"As handsome as Pha?" she asked with a knowing grin.

I shielded my eyes behind my hand, mortified. I should have known she'd guessed Pha was my first crush. But that was years ago; I'd been over it for a long time and was happy to have him as one of my best friends.

"More," I admitted when I had recovered from my embarrassment. "But don't tell Pha and Beam I said so. Pha will sulk and Beam will never let me hear the end of it."

By the time we returned home, my funk had lifted enough that I could at least concentrate on my homework.

But when I went to bed that night, all I could think of was Ming's smile as he flirted with the pretty sophomore girl.

_(END FLASHBACK)_

I woke to the sound of someone calling my name and patting the back of my hand.

"Kit, wake up. Wake up, sweetheart."

I blinked a couple of times and looked around to get my bearings.

"Kit, honey?"

"Mae?" I paused to clear my throat, which was a little dry. She held a cup of ice chips out to me.

"Here, the nurse said you could have this if you were thirsty. They probably won't let you drink anything for another hour."

I accepted the ice gratefully and sucked on a piece until it was melted and my tongue didn't stick to the roof of my mouth. But when I looked over at my mom, I felt a hard lump in my throat and my eyes started to sting. I'd never been so glad to see her.

"Mae, what are you doing here?" 

"Foolish child," she said, giving me an indulgent smile. Her eyes glimmered a bit, and she blinked several times to clear them. "Did you think I wouldn't catch a flight home as soon as I heard you needed surgery?" she chided as she ruffled my hair, then swept it off of my forehead to give me a kiss. "I'm going to make you count all the gray hairs you've given me one by one as soon as we get home."

She reached for my uninjured hand to hold it, slightly hampered by the IV in the back of my forearm. When I tried to lift my other hand to cover hers, I couldn't move it. I almost panicked until I remembered the doctor had said it would take a while for the nerve block to wear off. I turned my head and saw that there was a bandage covering my hand that extended past my wrist and hid my soul mark from view. I breathed a sigh relief - I wouldn't have solid proof that Ming was my soulmate until the doctor removed the splint to replace it with a cast.

I had two weeks to think about what I would do once that proof was staring me in the face.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: By now you probably know the drill. Feedback is much appreciated, and as always, a thousand thanks to everyone for reading/commenting/kudos.
> 
> Title taken from Shakepeare's sonnet # 58.


	9. Applying Hopes to Fears

_MING POV (the same morning of Kit's surgery)_

When I arrived at school the next morning, someone was leaning against my locker, occasionally winking at the girls who passed by. Almost without fail, those girls blushed or giggled in response, sometimes both. At least one of them pretended to stumble over an imaginary obstacle just so she could brush up against him, clutching at his arms when he straightened in order to catch her.

I was watching all of this from the doorway, shaking my head in amusement when he handed the girl his cell phone so she could tap in her LINE ID. I wondered if he'd actually contact her.

Then again, this was P'Beam. Of course he would. He'd contact her, they'd go out, and, if rumors were correct, he'd do her and then move on to the next pretty face. It was a wonder there were any girls left in the school Beam hadn't already gone out with at least once.

"Taking notes, nong?" he called out to me after the girl and her friends had moved on, giggling and chattering amongst themselves as they looked back occasionally to see if he was watching them.

"Sawatdee, khrub. And no, I was just observing."

He cocked his head to the side, considering me for a moment. "I guess you wouldn't need to take notes," he said, nodding at yet another gaggle of girls that passed by who glanced back and forth between us as if they were eyeing an all-you-can-eat buffet of desserts. "After all, your fan club is probably larger than mine."

I refused to confirm or deny, so I simply asked, "Did you need something, P' Beam??"

"Not really. I just wanted to thank you for helping Kit yesterday."

"Of course. We're teammates," I explained, and even if that wasn't the reason, Beam didn't need to know. "How is he?"

His brow furrowed in an expression that was a mixture of anger, concern, and disgust.

"He has a scaphoid fracture. He's having surgery on it this morning to repair it with a pin. If Pha and I get our hands on the asshole that fouled him, he'll be lucky if he doesn't need reconstructive surgery on his face."

"Can I help?" I asked, clenching my fists at the memory of Kit sprawled on the floor of the gym.

He looked surprised, and so was I. I could hold my own in a fight, thanks to years of Muay Thai lessons, but I wasn't usually the type to start one if I could help it. Broken noses suck, and I'd rather charm my way out of a sticky situation if I can. However, when I remembered the grimace of pain on Kit's face that afternoon in the infirmary, I realized I meant it. That fucker had elbowed Kit on purpose, and I wanted to put my foot up his ass so far it would meet daylight at the other end.

"Nah. Pha and I can handle it. But I'll tell him you made the offer," he said, giving me a sly grin, which I ignored.

I just hoped I wasn't visibly blushing; I could feel the tips of my ears turn warm. Trying for nonchalance, I asked, "When do you think he'll be back at school?"

Beam's expression sobered again.

"He has to stay in the hospital at least one more night. He may not be back until next week."

"Is there anything I can do? Get his assignments?"

"I'll take care of that. But if I think of anything, I'll let you know." He moved so that he was no longer blocking my access to my locker, so I reached for the combination lock and started twirling the dial. "See you at practice this afternoon."

"Okay, P' Beam."

He walked a few paces down the hall, then he turned and called out, "N' Ming!"

"Yes?" I paused to look up to see P' Beam grinning at me.

"He likes chocolate. Kit-Kat bars are his favorite!" He gave me a thumbs up and then disappeared into the throng of students rushing to make it to their classrooms before morning assembly. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I fumbled with my combination.

"P' Kit likes Kit-Kat," I mumbled to myself. "He's too cute."

And I still had his locker combination stashed in my desk drawer at home.

_***************_   
_KIT POV (two days after his surgery)_

When I woke Friday morning, I was a little disoriented until I remembered I was back in my own room. After a moment, I realized that someone was knocking on my bedroom door.

"Kit?" my mom called. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." I croaked.

"Do you want to stay home from school today?"

"Yes." Except I had a Chemistry test to take today. "No." Except I really didn't want to run into Ming. "I don't know!" I groaned into my pillow.

"It's okay if you do. I have a note from the doctor excusing you for the day along with the pain meds they prescribed. Stay home and rest if you want."

Her footsteps trailed down the hallway to the stairs before I could give her an answer. I really did want to stay home. The thought of facing Ming today...well, let's just say it was hard enough to keep my guard up around him before. Now?

_No. No way._

This is the guy that is rumored to have dated more than a dozen different girls. His first girlfriend was the sophomore I'd seen him talking to the day my soul-mark showed more than three years ago. When I found out he was dating her, I figured that meant any fleeting notion I'd had that he could be my soulmate was squashed flat.

Stupid of me, wasn't it?

"Uuuuughhhh...." someone said from the sofa on the other side of my room. "Kit, was this thing always this uncomfortable to sleep on?"

"Ai' Beam, what the hell are you doing here? I told you to go home last night!"

Beam didn't wait for a response from me, he just rolled to a sitting position and aimed his pillow at my head.

"Get up, Kit. We have a Chemistry midterm today, remember? And the only excuse for missing it is if you're dead. Teacher won't care if you broke your wrist."

I was still in the bed so I just rolled over and pulled the sheet up over my head.

"Go away. I have a note that says I can stay home."

Beam yanked the sheet away from me.

"Nope. Hiding in here won't help. Get your ass out of that bed, Ai'Kitty, or I'll pull you out of it myself."

Beam grabbed one of my feet and started tugging on it, pulling me across the mattress. I kicked out with the other and caught him in the hip.

"Damn, Kit! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm not going," I growled. "Leave me alone!"

"Kit, does this have something to do with Ming?" he asked.

Startled, I bolted upright.

"What? No! Of course not!" I sputtered. "Why would it have anything to do with him?"

_No way...I couldn't have told him, could I?_  
  
Beam thwacked me on the shoulder with a paperback book I'd left on my nightstand.

"Shiya, Beam, that hurt!" I howled, rubbing at the sore spot he'd made.

"You kicked me first," he said. "Do you honestly not remember? Or do you just not remember telling me?"

_Crap._

"I told you?" I asked.

"Yep. You told me. You told the nurse that came in to check your vitals, too."

"I did not! You're making that up!"

He laughed.

"Ok, you didn't tell the nurse. But after you told me you loved me, you told me you were madly in love with Ai' Ming and wanted to have his babies."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Beam is an excellent liar; Pha could usually tell, but I have more trouble reading him. Telling him I loved him sounded like something I might say under the right conditions. Beam has been my best friend since we were kids, after all. But even if I had been strung out like sheets on washday, I didn't think I would have said anything about wanting to have Ming's babies.

"Ai' Beam, I still have one good hand to punch you with," I threatened.

"Okay, okay. Seriously, Kitty. You told me you think he's your soulmate."

I flopped backward on the bed and buried my face under my pillow with a long, disgusted "Uuuuuuuuuggggghhhh!" Then I peeked out at Beam again and barked, "Why did you let her shoot me up with that stuff anyway?"

Beam folded his arms against his chest and rolled his eyes. "Because you were making the migraine face."

"I was?" I was fuzzy on the details; I couldn't remember much about my hospital stay that first night, especially after Pha left. Beam had seen the effects of my migraines numerous times over the years. If he judged I was in enough pain to need drugs, he was probably right.

"Yeah. The weird thing is, you were rubbing at a spot on your chest like it hurt, too," he explained, pointing to the vicinity of my heart. "For a minute I thought you were having a heart attack.

I raised my uninjured hand and rubbed at the spot he indicated and vaguely remembered feeling a distinct ache there, as if I had been running for miles and miles and couldn't quite catch my breath anymore. Weird.

Beam sat down next to me on the bed and held his hand out. When I cocked one eyebrow at him he huffed out a huge, impatient sigh. "Your hand, moron. Let me see your hand."

I stupidly gave him my uninjured hand.

"Shiya, Kitty, are you still high? Let me see the other one!"

Puzzled, I showed him the hot pink bandage that encased all of my palm and my thumb and extended almost well past the mark on my wrist.

"So there's no way to see if your mark is colored in until the splint comes off."

I shook my head.

"And it was still gray yesterday morning?"

I nodded.

"Yes. But I'm pretty sure all the same."

I pulled my hand away and absentmindedly rubbed my thumb across the spot where my mark was.

"Why is that?" Beam asked, tilting his head to one side like a confused puppy.

I felt my face flame as I recalled the sensation I'd felt after Ming's brief kiss. It didn't hurt the same way that my skin stung where the mark first showed up, but that tingle traveled from the mark on my wrist all the way through the rest of me, leaving me feeling pleasantly warm inside. And we just won't mention the _other, more embarrassing_ effect it had on my body.

Beam stared at me for a moment with a puzzled expression, then his mouth widened into that sly smirk of his.

"Shiya, Kitty! You mean to say N' Ming's kiss got you all hot and bothered?"

I grabbed my pillow and belted him across the face with it.

"Oi, shut up, Beam!"

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his arms to protect his head as I continued to pelt him with the pillow. When I stopped, he flopped back on the bed and gazed up at the ceiling. "You know, I think you're really lucky, Kit. At least now you know." His voice held a note of wistfulness that was unlike the Beam I usually knew. I hadn't realized it bothered him that he didn't have a soul-mark yet.

"At the rate you go through girls, you're bound to meet the right one sooner or later, Ai' Beam," I teased.

"Yeah, maybe," he said, but he didn't seem convinced. Then he shook himself and glanced over at me. "It won't be the right guy, that's for sure!" he added with a giggle, then he made a gagging face.

Aaaaand...there it was - the reason I would rather have shot myself in the foot than tell Beam that Ming was my soulmate. It was bad enough that he already knew I thought Ming was attractive. Hell, Beam is one of the straightest guys I know and even HE admitted Ming was attractive. But now that he knew Ming was my soulmate? I would never hear the end of it. And I'd be lucky if Ming himself didn't know within five minutes of our arrival at school.

When I ignored him, he asked, "Are you going to tell him?"

I shook my head so hard I think I felt my brain rattle in my skull. I'd thought long and hard about it since the "incident" and had come to the conclusion I just couldn't. It was no secret that Ming likes girls.

"No."

"Why not? I mean... obviously he's not my type, but you said yourself he's hot. And if rumors can be believed, he's not unskilled in the bedroom," he added, nudging me in the side with his elbow.

"Ai' Beam! Shut the fuck up!"

I thwacked him with the pillow again. The last thing I wanted to hear about was any experience Ming had in _that_ area since I had absolutely zero myself.

Beam studied my face for a moment, so I stood and busied myself making the bed to avoid his scrutiny, which made me restless. Finally he said, "Kit, do you really think he doesn't like you back? Have you seen the way he looks at you? He even asked about you yesterday."

I looked up at him in shock.

"He did?"

"Not only that, but when I told him Pha and I had plans to hunt down the guy that elbowed you in the face, he asked if he could help."

Damn it. Even the suggestion that Ming might be concerned about me had my heart thumping harder in my chest. I sawt back down on the bed, feeling dazed, unsure what to make of Beam's words. Ming had been friendly enough to me over the years (even when I'd kind of been an asshole), but he was friendly to everyone. And yes, maybe he'd flirted with me on occasion, but again, he flirts with everyone, and I mean _everyone._ When he flirts with me, it just seems to amuse him that it embarrasses me. I tried to imagine telling him he was my soulmate and the roiling sensation of fear mingled with hope twisted my stomach into a knot.

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" I begged. "I'm not telling him right now, and that's that."

But I might, eventually. Once I could show him the mark.

For now, I was glad the cast covered up the mark. I didn't plan on telling him anything until I was ready to deal with the implications of having one of the school's worst playboys (the other being Beam) as my soulmate. He never dated the same girl for more than a couple of months, and he seemed to have a penchant for dating girls that were older than he was. During his sophomore year, he dated three different seniors and a couple of juniors.

I'd seen the kinds of girls Ming dated. Most of them could have been models. Ming himself could be a model, if he wanted, but his family was plenty rich, and I'd heard that no matter how many times recruiters pleaded with him he turned them down flat. His excuse was that he didn't have time for that kind of bullshit.

Me, on the other hand...I was bad-tempered, foul-mouthed, sheltered, and had a tendency to go soft around the middle unless I watched my weight, plus I was completely inexperienced when it came to matters of the opposite sex. Or, in my case, the same sex. Whatever Beam saw when Ming looked at me, I only saw someone who enjoyed teasing his senior because he liked getting a rise out of me.

The only thing I couldn't explain was why he had kissed my mark in the first place...but then, it's no secret that Ming lets his impulses get the better of him. Sometimes he was like a puppy that hadn't been completely housebroken yet. Just when you thought he knew the rules and was capable of behaving, he inevitably did something that made you want to swat him with a rolled up newspaper.

"Fine," Beam said as he rolled off the bed and stood. "I'll drop it for now. I'm going downstairs to eat. You better be down in five minutes or I'll be back up here to haul you down myself, the hard way."

I knew he'd do it, too.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Thanks for reading/commenting/kudos (comments especially make my day, it helps so much to know what people do or don't like about the story!) 
> 
> Title is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet 119.


	10. An Unperfect Actor

_KIT POV_

Pha arrived just as we finished eating breakfast. We didn't usually ride to school together, but you may have already noticed he has a tendency to be overprotective.

"Sawatdee, khrub," he greeted my mom and sister-in-law. Hia' Kieng had already left for work. 

"Sawatdee, kha," my mom replied. "Phana, thank you so much for looking after Kit, and for keeping us informed. Thank you, too, Beam."

The two of them looked embarrassed by the attention. We'd all been friends for so long it was natural to watch out for each other. Mom made Pha sit down to eat with us, saying she would explain to the school herself if we were late. 

No one argues with my mom. 

Fortunately, we arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. The three of us were headed to my locker when Beam pulled me off to one side behind a wall just before we reached it. Pha hid behind the wall on the opposite side of the doorway that my locker was situated near. When I started to protest, Beam clamped his hand over my mouth and went "Shh," jerking his head in the direction of my locker. I peeked around the wall to see what he was looking at, as did Pha.

Ming was there with Wayo. I jerked back around and Pha quickly ducked back behind the wall on the opposite side of the door. The three of us attempted to adopt casual poses as if we were just hanging out, even though we were all riveted by the conversation that drifted our way.

"...to tell him I won't be at practice this weekend. We're leaving today after practice and won't be back until Sunday evening."

"Coach won't like it if you miss practice," Wayo said. His voice was much softer than Ming's, so we had to strain to hear him. 

"I know, but mom said these friends were more important." Ming sounded irritated and impatient, which was unusual; unlike me, he's generally a friendly, pleasant person to be around. Unless he's teasing me, which is pretty much any time he sees me. He's almost as bad as Ai' Beam.

"Did they say which friends?"

"No. But there was something weird about the way they looked at each other after they told me." 

"Weird how?"

"I don't know." Ming hesitated a moment before continuing. "Weird as in _expectations_ weird," he explained, stressing the word "expectations" as if he thought his parents had some nefarious plot up their sleeves. "This girl is supposed to be transferring here next week and they want me to show her around."

I glanced at Beam, whose eyebrows were raised. He mouthed the word "Girl?" at me.

My heart was thumping too hard in my chest to pay any attention to him, though. I was too busy straining to hear over the blood rushing in my ears.

"Wait, you said Phuket?" Wayo asked.

"Yeah, why?"

When I peeked around the corner, I could see that Wayo now had a knowing grin on his face, but Ming looked clueless. Fortunately, neither of them was looking in my direction.

"No reason," Wayo said with a shrug, attempt to affect an air of innocence, and I wondered what that was all about. "At least you get a trip to the beach out of the deal. How long are you going to wait for P' Kit to show? Do you think P' Phana will be with him?" 

I felt my face flame at the mention of my name and decided I didn't want to listen anymore. I caught Pha's eye and jerked my head in the direction opposite my locker. Then I grabbed Beam's arm and dragged him back the way we came, away from my locker and our class, all the way to the stairs at the opposite end of the hallway, with Pha bringing up the rear.

"Oi, Kit, where are we going?" Beam yelped. Pha just grabbed his other arm and helped me pull him up the stairs behind us, clearly as interested in avoiding Wayo as I was in avoiding Ming.

"P' Kit?" I heard a voice call from a distance behind us, but I didn't turn around to see who it was, and I didn't slow down, even when we reached the second-floor landing.

"You two assholes are going to make us late," Beam huffed, slightly winded from climbing the stairs so fast. "Teacher said if I'm late again this month she'll send me to the office to call my parents.

I waved my splint at him. "Get out of jail free card, remember? Just tell her you had to help me with my books. We still have time if you shut up and we hurry. I don't need anything from my locker, anyway."

He shifted both our bookbags from one shoulder to the other with a grunt. "Maybe not, but I'll become a hunchback if I have to carry your crap and mine much longer.

"Did I ask you to?" I demanded, holding out my good arm for my bag. He just shook his head and grabbed me in a headlock. 

"Ai' Kitty, don't be so prickly. You're thinking too much. We only heard-"

"Ai' Beam, you're being too rough," Pha interrupted. He slid my bag off of Beam's shoulder and onto his own. "Let him go."

"But it didn't sound like-'"

"I don't care. It doesn't matter to me, anyway. Let go, you bastard!" I demanded.

I could tell by the look on his face that he knew I was lying, but he didn't have time to call me on it. Morning assembly was in just a few minutes, and we would be marked late if we didn't reach our classroom before then. Finally, he let go. Pha grabbed us both by the back of the neck instead, pushing us along so that we reached our class with just a minute to spare.

_________________

_MING'S POV_

"Was that..." Wayo began.

"I think so," I mused, gazing over the heads of most of the other students in the hallway.

"Why..."

"I don't know."

Wayo smacked me with his bag. "Ai' Ming, would you let me -"

"No."

Unless I was mistaken, that was P' Kit, P' Beam, and P' Pha rushing down the hall in the opposite direction of their classroom, as if they were a trio of spooked horses. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were avoiding us...but I couldn't imagine what reason they would possibly have to do so. I stewed over it until lunchtime, when I tracked Kit down in the library, parked at a table in the back, pencil scratching rapidly across a piece of paper. There was no sign of Pha or Beam, so I pulled out the chair opposite him and slid into it before he could say a word.

"Sawatdee, khrub," I greeted him. "How's your wrist, P' Kit?"

"Why are you sitting there?" he snapped. "Out of all the tables here, you had to pick this one?"

I looked around at the empty tables all around us and shrugged. "I thought you could use some company, P'. You looked lonely over here without your sidekicks."

He made a disgusted noise. "I look busy, not lonely. Thanks to this," he paused and held up his left arm, "I wasn't able to work on the homework due in my Chemistry class this afternoon. Go away."

"It really is broken then, khrub?"

"Obviously," he replied in a voice dripping with disdain. Fortunately, I have a thick skin, and I was used to P' Kit's grumpy demeanor. His bark is worse than his bite.

"Does it still hurt a lot?" I persisted. 

Kit finally looked up from the notebook he was scribbling in and narrowed his eyes at me. "Ai' Ming. Did you not hear me tell you I needed to get this finished?"

"Sorry, P' Kit. I'll be quiet."

I watched as he continued writing at a furious pace. His left arm was encased in a cast from mid-palm almost to his elbow, completely covering the soul-mark I had kissed a couple of days ago. I knew it was silly to even be thinking about it - there's no way that I could possibly be P' Kit's soulmate. All the same, I couldn't help but be curious about the mark, wondering if it was there was even the faintest chance that the color had filled in since I had kissed it.

"How long do you have to wear the cast?" I asked, forgetting I had promised to be quiet.

He slammed his pencil down on the table and closed his textbook and notebook with an exaggerated sigh. Rising, he growled, "I'm leaving."

I put my hands on top of the books before he could slide them into his bag. "I'm sorry, P'. I promise I really will be quiet this time."

He glared at me, but he sat once more and reopened his books. A few moments later he muttered, "Eight weeks."

Eight weeks before I'd know for sure whether or not his mark had changed. I might go crazy wondering by then, but I didn't dare say so to Kit. Instead, I pulled out my own homework, an English translation that I had fallen asleep in the middle of the night before. I worked in silence for about ten minutes before I felt his gaze on me. I flicked my eyes upward from my paper to see that he was watching as I wrote.

"I didn't know you were fluent in English," he said.

"I have a friend whose family has been stationed in Europe for the past three years. She writes me letters in English so I can practice." I didn't want to tell him that my dad has business interests in Europe and that I had often spent summers there. I was afraid it would sound like I was trying to impress him.

For some reason, Kit flushed and looked back down at his paper. I took the opportunity to study him for a moment while he wasn't looking. For a guy, his features were really cute, almost elfin, especially when he smiled.

"Why are you staring at me?" he hissed.

"You made a math error in the equation for problem number seven, P'. To balance the equation, you would need four molecules of H20, not three."

"Ai' Ming," he started, but then he took a closer look at his paper. After rolling his eyes in disgust, he erased the mistake and made the change I suggested.

"Thanks," he muttered.

I couldn't keep the delighted smile off my face. "Any time, P' Kit."

Unfortunately, there were only a few minutes before the next period by then. After glancing up at the clock on the wall, Kit shoved his things into his bag and rose again to leave.

"P' Kit..."

He didn't reply, but he turned to look at me, one eyebrow raised in question.

"Um, nothing, really, P'. I just thought, I mean, if you need anything..." I trailed off as I noticed Beam and Pha walking towards us. "Never mind."

He walked a few steps away, but then he turned around and walked back until he stood a few steps from my chair.

"Ming..." he began but hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to say.

"What is it, P'?"

"I, uh...I just wanted to say thanks. For the other day."

Before I could say anything in response, he turned and bolted in the other direction, dragging Beam and Pha out the door with him. I sat there staring off after him with a silly grin on my face until the bell rang and Wayo came to fetch me.

***************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know there are a few changes in Ming's character from the novel, but they suit my purpose (in the novel he doesn't know English well but I didn't realize until I re-read part three the other day and I just don't feel like changing it right now). 
> 
> Thank you all for reading/commenting/kudos!
> 
> Title taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet # 23.


	11. Therefore We Admire

_KIT'S POV_

The gymnasium was filled with the squeak of sneakers against the lacquered floor, the thump of basketballs as they were dribbled and caught, and the calls of my teammates as they shouted encouragement to each other while running drills. I was seated several rows up on the bleachers, watching and taking notes on a clipboard.

"P' Kit?"

Wayo's query was tentative as if he was afraid of disturbing me. I had been so focused on the interplay of my teammates on the court that I hadn't noticed him approach from my right side.

"Oh, Nong Wayo. Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. Did you need something?"

He gave a small giggle.

"No, P'. I just finished bringing out the water bottles," he nodded towards the crate he had left on the bottom row of the bleachers, "and I thought you might be thirsty." He held one of the bottles out to me, condensation dripping off the sides. As the team manager, one of Wayo's tasks was to make sure the players stayed hydrated. He also took care of our gear and kept statistics, but I had volunteered to take on that last job since I wouldn't be able to play the rest of the season.

"Thanks, nong. Have a seat."

I patted the bench beside me. Giving me one of his shy smiles, he accepted the invitation without argument and propped his feet up on the bench below us so he could rest arms on his knees. He scanned the court until he located Ming, who was attempting to shoot while Phana blocked him.

"They're pretty evenly matched," he murmured.

"Mmm." He was right; they were. Ming was slightly faster, but Phana was a little taller and had more experience playing his position, being a senior member of the team. Unfortunately, his experience made him cocky, especially when paired against Ming. Ming swept the ball low and around Pha, swooshing it into the net with ease a moment later, shooting Pha a satisfied smirk. Pha caught the rebound and passed it to Beam, who dribbled downcourt towards the other net.

"Pfft." When I arched an eyebrow at him, he explained, "Big-head Ming. He gloats every time he manages to get the ball past P' Phana."

I smirked and leaned in close to mutter, "Don't tell Ming I told you this, but Pha does the same thing."

Wayo's eyes widened in amusement as he covered his grin with both hands.

"I'd never tell, P' Kit. Promise. Ming's ego is insufferable as it is." He sobered quickly as Ming appeared to glare at us before he loped after Beam to try and regain control of the ball. "I don't think he likes it when I talk to you. He's usually not this jealous."

Ming had been between girlfriends for a long time. I hadn't heard about him going out with anyone this year, which had reignited Pha's suspicions that there was something between him and Wayo.

"Are you two dating or something?"

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I wanted to sink under the bleachers in embarrassment. Wayo's mouth rounded in surprise, but then he flushed pink.

"No, P' Kit. Ming has been my best friend since we were little, and that's all. I...I have someone else I like."

"Does Ming know that?" I retorted. I didn't mean to give the kid a hard time, but I thought back to the glare Ming gave us when Wayo held my hand the other day. It was cold enough to freeze molten steel.

"He knows." As I took a swig of my water, he added, "You know, he was really worried when P' Beam told him about your surgery."

I half inhaled, half spit the mouthful of water I had just sipped from the bottle, leaving me coughing and sputtering. Wayo slid closer and thumped me on the back several times until I stopped wheezing. I was just glad I was facing away from Wayo when I did it, or he would have wound up wearing the puddle of water that I had just sprayed onto the bench below us. I turned to ask him why, but he wasn't finished yet.

"And he was frantic when you passed out the other day."

Beam had crowed over the video he'd played for me last night that showed Ming running to the infirmary with me in his arms. The cheerleader who filmed it must have followed us from the gymnasium to be able to capture as much as she had. The video already had thousands of hits on Youtube, way more than the number of students at our school.

"Uuuuugh, I'm never gonna live that down," I groaned, hiding my eyes behind my hands as I relived the odd, queasy sensation that seeing Ming haul me up into his arms on the video had caused. 

"Eh, don't think of it that way, P' Kit. Judging by the comments, most of the people who've watched it are wishing they were in your shoes, broken wrist and all." He paused, and when I peeked out from behind my hands he was gazing at the pink bandage on my left arm. "Does it still hurt very much?"

"It's sore, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much now as it did the day I fell."

Below us, Pha walked towards the bleachers to grab one of the water bottles from the crate. He glanced up at us with a small frown.

"You okay, Kit?" he called.

"I'm fine. Quit being such a worrywart, Ai' Pha!" I retorted.

Pha gave me a withering look, then he noticed Wayo staring at him with wide eyes. "Nong," he acknowledged. Wayo wai'ed in return, but the only sound he made was a slight squeak. Then the devil whispered something in my ear.

"Ai' Pha, I think our nong here is too parched to speak politely. Why don't you bring him one of those bottles?" I said, giving him an evil grin.

Wayo shot me a look of panic. And if the look Pha directed my way had actually been full of daggers, I would have been punctured dozens of times over. I clamped my hand onto Wayo's shoulder so he couldn't run away while Pha fetched the bottle I'd requested. He climbed over the bleachers until he was standing just below Wayo and held the bottle out to him.

"Here you are, nong."

Wayo reached for the bottle with a hand that trembled. His eyes flicked briefly up to Pha's and then back down again. "Th-th-thank you, P'."

Pha opened his mouth as if to say something else, but then snapped it shut again. As he turned to leave, I could only describe the look on his face as one of disappointment. He couldn't see how Wayo's eyes followed him as he clambered down the bleachers and snagged another bottle of water before he jogged across the court to where Beam waited.

"Nong Wayo, are you actually terrified of Pha?" I asked because it was high time to get to the bottom of his reactions to my friend for Pha's peace of mind if nothing else.

Wayo's head whipped around to face me.

"No! Of course not, P' Kit," he said, sounding genuinely shocked. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because that's what he thinks," I said, nodding in Pha's direction. It might not be obvious to Wayo, but I could tell his posture was slightly slumped from his usual cocky demeanor. He quickly finished off his water and gave the bottle to Beam to return to the rack. He removed the towel from around his neck and used it to wipe away some of the sweat from his hair and skin. Then, with the towel covering his hair (and effectively hiding his profile), he trudged toward the gymnasium door, threw it open and disappeared. I turned to Wayo in time to see him rest his chin on his hand, his gaze having followed Pha to the door.

Wayo's blush deepened even further when he glanced back at me and realized I'd caught him staring. He looked as if he wanted to bolt again, but with my hand still clamped on his shoulder, he couldn't. 

"Um, I...I might find him a little intimidating. He's a senior. He's so tall and cool," he said with a wistful sigh. "And he looks at me like...oh, I don't know, like I'm a bug on the bottom of his shoe," he finished with another forlorn glance at the door Pha had vanished through.

When I burst out laughing, Wayo looked completely bewildered. I bent over and shook my head helplessly as I continued to giggle, aware that I was making a scene but unable to stop. Finally, I raised my head to catch my breath, tears streaming from my eyes.

"Nong Wayo, you couldn't be further from the truth," I explained, still gasping as I swiped the tears away. "I can't wait to tell Pha-"

"No, P'!" he said in a harsh whisper, reaching to cover my mouth with his hand and glancing around to see if anyone was paying attention.

"Hey, Nong!" I tried to say, but it came out "Mffonngg!"

When Wayo realized what he'd done, he jerked his hand away from my mouth. 

"Sorry, P' Kit," he apologized, wai-ing several times for emphasis. "I wasn't thinking." 

I didn't understand why he didn't want me to say anything to disabuse Pha of the notion that this cute nong was afraid of him, or worse, hated him. Pha had a bit of a complex about his reputation as a delinquent. The thought that Wayo was afraid of him because of that reputation had haunted him for years.

"Why don't you want me to tell him?" I asked. 

Wayo's lips parted as if he was about to speak, but Pha chose that moment to re-enter the gymnasium, capturing all of Wayo's attention. My friend took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before he jogged over to Beam and knocked the ball away from him. As he dribbled to one of the painted arcs on the floor where he made what would be a three-point shot in a game, Wayo sighed again.

"P' Kit, I promised I wouldn't tell Ming what you said earlier. You have to promise not to tell P' Pha what I said. Please?" he begged, taking my uninjured hand in both of his and squeezing it. His agitation at the thought that I might repeat his words of admiration to his P' was palpable, and I wondered why it mattered so much, unless....

"Wayo...is Phana the person you like?" 

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Pha and Wayo are back! If you're re-reading from Wattpad and happen to wonder where Forth/Beam's teaser chapter is, I'll be posting it in a different book (which will become book 3 in this series, eventually).
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone for reading, and especially for commenting and kudos! I love hearing what you think of the story - what you like, what you don't like, what you might like to see in future chapters.
> 
> Chapter title is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet #123.


	12. One Blushing Shame

_KIT'S POV (CONT')_

The color drained from Wayo's face as he turned and sought Phana's figure on the court. He and Ming had swapped, with Ming now waving his arms in front of Pha's face, blocking his access to the net. Pha dribbled the ball through his legs and sidestepped Ming, neatly evening the score with a layup. The look of annoyance on Ming's face put a smile on mine, which I tried to hide with a fake cough when he glanced our way.

"Don't be silly, P'. H-h-how could I like him?" Wayo asked, his voice barely audible over the thundering sound of the players' shoes against the floorboards as they crossed the court again. "W-we're both guys."

"So?" I asked, giving him a pointed look as his eyes continued to follow Pha, who slapped the ball away from Gin, bouncing it back to Beam.

"I-I-I..." he stammered, glancing from Pha to me and back to Pha again. "Am I really - "

He trailed off as the door to the gym opened and several of the cheerleaders entered, giggling amongst themselves as they observed the players on the court, skin glistening with sweat from exertion. When Pin, the head cheerleader, spotted me on the bleachers with Wayo, she waved excitedly, motioning for the rest of the girls to follow as she climbed over the rows of seats to reach us. 

"Sawatdee, kha!" they chimed in unison. There were eight of them in all, two from each of the upper grades.

"Swatdee, khrap," Wayo and I replied.

"Aow, Kit, we were so worried about you the other day!" Pin took a seat next to me and gestured to the other girls that they should sit, too. When they surrounded us, Wayo froze like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Once again he looked like he wanted to bolt, but when I narrowed my eyes he swallowed hard and stayed where he was. 

Pin scooted close enough that her arm was pressed up against mine and gave my wrist a dismayed glance. 

"Are you really not going to be able to finish the season?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," I said, holding up my wrist in its electric pink bandage. "Once this comes off in a couple of weeks I'll be in a cast for at least two more months. No more basketball for me this year." 

I tried to play it off as if it was no big deal, but I hated not being able to finish my last season on the team. The girls all made disappointed noises, and Pin reached up and gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. 

"I'm really sorry, Kit."

I just shook my head and smiled, loath to give in to self-pity in front of anyone. 

"It's okay." Loath to give in to self-pity, I tried to smile as I joked, "Maybe I'll come and cheer with you girls at the games instead."

"Oh, P' Kit, you should do that! We'd love to have you cheer with us!" Wren, the junior co-captain said. "Yes, P' Kit, please do!" several of the girls agreed.

"Say the word, Kit, and I'll scrounge up a uniform for you!" Pin said, giving me a sunny smile. Then she leaned forward to look at Wayo and added, "You too, nong! You'd make a cute cheerleader!"

Wayo's eyes widened in surprise, though whether he was flattered or embarrassed by the attention, I wasn't sure. His blush from earlier returned full-force.

"Um, sorry, P' Pin, but I have too much to do during the games to join the cheering squad," he said.

"Aw, that's too bad," she pouted, but she gave him a wink to let him know she was just teasing.

There were already several guys on the cheerleading squad. I doubted they'd appreciate my taking their place, and I knew Pin was just playing along. The girls sat with us for a few minutes, squealing and clapping from time to time when one of the team made a shot. Finally, Coach blew the whistle for a break.

"We should get back to our own practice, Kit," Pin said. "I just wanted to come and check on you for a minute since we don't have any classes together this year. See you later!" She stood and motioned for the rest of the girls to follow her. They scrambled down the bleachers and gathered in front of the door, their heads bent close in a huddle.

"No! I can't do that!" one of the girls said. When I glanced over, one of the freshman cheerleaders had backed away from the rest, covering her mouth with her hands in dismay. She glanced up towards Wayo and me and then back at the girls, shaking her head from side to side. Wren and Pin caught her by her arms and led her back to the bleachers, nodding up at us. When she shook her head, they gently pushed her forward, watching in amusement as she reluctantly climbed to stand in front of Wayo.

"Um, P' Wayo...." she murmured, looking down at her feet. "My name is Echo." We waited for her to continue. When she didn't, Wayo gave her a gentle, if puzzled, smile.

"It's nice to meet you, nong Echo," he said. "Is there something you needed?"

Echo glanced over her shoulder at the captains with a pained expression, shaking her head again. But whatever it was they wanted her to do, Pin refused to relent.

"Go on and ask," she encouraged. "He won't bite."

"P', I'm really sorry, but I have to ask you a favor," Echo said, wringing her hands together.

Still puzzled, Wayo replied, "Of course. What is it?"

Echo crouched down beside him and leaned over to whisper behind her hand into his ear. Wayo's faint, pink blush deepened to a dull red, and he glanced around Echo to where Wren and Pin waited in front of the bleachers. Pin pressed her hands together in a wai as a request to either please indulge her, or as an apology - maybe both.

By this point, the basketball team members had gathered around the crate of water bottles Wayo had brought out earlier. Ming looked mystified, while Pha was alternately glaring at the poor freshman and the co-captains.

The poor girl was now blushing all the way to the roots of her hair and unable to look Wayo in the eye.

"Why?" Wayo asked. The girl stood and wai'ed several times.

"I'm sorry, P'! They told me I had to ask, but they didn't say you had to do it."

Wayo leaned to glance around the girl, his eyebrows raised as he realized that the attention of everyone in the gym, especially Phana, was currently on him and this cute cheerleader. He gulped and looked back up at the girl instead.

"What happens if I don't?" he asked, his voice cracking with stress.

"Um, it's kind of an initiation. If you don't help me, they'll probably find something even more embarrassing for me to do. Like ask P' Pha," she said, aiming a look towards Pha, who was now quietly fuming at this spectacle. She immediately turned back to Wayo, appearing as if she wanted to cry at the mere thought of approaching the stone-faced senior.

"I'm so sorry, P' Wayo, but could you please, please, please help me?"

Wayo glanced at me, but all I could do was shrug, having no idea what the girl's request was. He glanced down at his feet in contemplation, then heaved an enormous sigh.

"Ok," he said at last, pushing himself off the into a standing position. He crossed his arms over his chest, bent slightly at the waist, and closed his eyes. "Go ahead."

The girl gulped, then she braced her hands lightly on Wayo's shoulders, went up on her tip-toes and just barely kissed the tiny soul-mark at the end of Wayo's nose.

The huddle of girls squealed and clapped as Echo backed away from Wayo. She wai'ed one more time, now smiling from ear to ear instead of appearing like a timid little bird. "Thank you, P'!" she called as she clambered back down the bleachers to where the other girls waited. They surrounded her immediately, chattering like magpies.

"You're welcome, nong," Wayo muttered before resuming his seat next to me on the bleachers.

"Oi, Pin!" Phana called as if Pin was across the gymnasium instead of just a few steps away. He strode over to her and grasped her elbow to tug her away from the others where they fell into a heated exchange.

I nudged Wayo with my elbow and nodded in their direction, where Pha was gesturing furiously towards the spot in which Wayo and I sat.

"You see? He's actually quite protective of you," I explained. Wayo clearly had no idea just how much Pha looked after him without his noticing. He never would have made such a ruckus in front of Wayo if he hadn't been so upset by what he'd just witnessed. He finally let Pin go, and as she left to rejoin her cheerleaders, she gave us a smile and a wave. Pha wandered over to speak to Coach, probably to discuss strategy for the next game, but I could tell his attention was still on Wayo.

Wayo heaved a forlorn sigh, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed at the object of his affection. "Am I that obvious, P' Kit?"

"Only when you think no one's looking," I said, ruffling his hair. When Pha cut his eyes over toward me, I stuck my tongue out at him. Possessive bastard.

"You know, I could say the same for you," Wayo countered.

"Don't be ridiculous! Pha is just my friend."

"I wasn't talking about P' Pha," he explained, giving me a sideways glance. "But while we're on the subject, you used to look at him the same way."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I insisted, hoping my blush wasn't as obvious as his.

He shrugged.

"Maybe you've forgotten. It's been a long time since you looked at him that way. Instead, you started looking at -"

It was my turn to reach over and clamp my hand over Wayo's mouth.

"Do _not_ finish that sentence if you know what's good for you," I threatened.

_WHAM!_

Wayo and I nearly jumped out of our skin as a basketball crashed into the bleacher behind us, narrowly missing me as it sailed past.

Beam shouted, "Ai' Ming, who the hell were you passing to? Are you trying to kill my friend?"

Ming wai'ed in our direction as Wayo stood to retrieve the ball and toss it back to him, but rather than apologetic he seemed irritated.

"So...did your mark change colors, P' Kit?" Wayo asked, once Ming and Beam had taken their attention off of us and resumed passing drills with several of the second string players.

"The last time I was able to see it was the morning I had surgery. It was still gray, then." When I realized I should have just said no, I could have kicked myself. I only hoped Wayo didn't notice my slip-up.

"Oh," he said. Then his eyes widened, and he continued, "Oh! But, P'Kit, don't they say it takes-" he trailed off when he met my glare. "Never mind."

"Not a word," I said. "You want me to keep my mouth shut, you should, too."

Wayo nodded and made a zipping motion across his mouth.

"But Nong Wayo, you should try and stop acting like a scared rabbit every time you see Pha, okay? It...um...it kind of hurts his feelings," I finished, mentally apologizing to Pha for spilling even this much. Hoping I hadn't inadvertently revealed Pha's long-standing crush, I added, "I mean, it bothers him to think any of his nongs are afraid of him."

"I'll try, P'," he agreed.

Practice wrapped up not long after that. I stuck around to help Wayo gather the towels and water bottles. When we were finished, we were met by Pha, Beam, and Ming, all of whom were waiting outside the locker room.

"P' Kit," Ming said, stepping forward. "I'm really sorry about that ball. Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I hope you'll perform better than that at next week's game," I chided. 

I should have known better.

One corner of Ming's mouth lifted in his trademark smirk as he bent forward until his lips were mere centimeters from touching my ear. The warm caress of his breath coupled with his innuendo sent a shiver straight down my spine as he murmured, "Don't worry, P' Kit. I'll make sure my performance is up to your standards...on the court, and off."

_OH...MY...GOD. Why is it I'm always praying for the floor to swallow me whole whenever Ming is around?_

I was so stunned, I just stood there with my mouth gaping open like a fish and goosebumps covering every inch of my skin. Ming straightened and wai'ed to the three of us as if he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

"See you next week, P's," he said. "Let's go, Wayo. Your dad is probably waiting, and I have a flight to catch."

How could I have forgotten? Ming was spending the weekend at some mystery girl's beach house and wouldn't be at practice tomorrow. Still reeling from his teasing, I gave Pha and Beam an excuse about forgetting something and left them to wait for me while I composed myself. To make it look good, I went to my locker to get my English textbook. I didn't really need it, but it wouldn't hurt to work on the translation that was due next week over the weekend.

To my surprise, someone had left a Kit-Kat bar on top of the stack of books in my locker.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: As always, thanks to everyone for reading, and especially for taking the time to vote or kudo. Think Kit and Wayo will be able to keep each others' secrets? Should they?
> 
> It's hard not to channel some of Nine and Joong while writing this. For instance, Nine saying "Oh my god!" during the boys' TEP interview was too funny...so I found a way slip it in here, sort of. :)
> 
> This chapter's title is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet 99.


	13. Heavy Ignorance Aloft

By the time our plane landed in Phuket, I was ready to do nothing more than collapse into the nearest bed. The week had taken its toll, and my parents still hadn't disclosed the identity of the mystery friends we were visiting.

As I was rolling my carry-on through the terminal behind my parents, a high-pitched voice suddenly rang out "Oh my god, Ming!"

Before I realized what was happening, a girl-shaped blur with coconut-scented hair and arms that tried to squeeze my insides out through my nostrils tackled me, nearly knocking me on my ass. I braced my hands on the mystery person's shoulders and was able to steady us both. Instead of finding this assault on my person strange, my parents had turned to watch with indulgent smiles, gazing fondly at the pint-sized girl in front of me.

_No way._

"Moo Wan?"

The girl in question looked up at me with a big grin and hugged me a little tighter. 

"Of course, dummy! Who'd you think it was?"

"The last time I saw you, you were still wearing pigtails and braces," I said in a strangled voice as I attempted to disentangle myself from what had to be at least eight arms. "Moo Wan, let go, please. People are staring."

And indeed, people around us in the terminal were giving us curious, sometimes disapproving glances as they passed. She finally released me when my parents walked up to greet her. It had been more than four years since I had last seen her. She'd grown a little taller and a lot prettier, but I've never seen her as anything more than a family member.

"Why didn't you tell me it was Moo Wan we were coming to visit?" I asked my mom as we continued walking toward the terminal entrance. Moo Wan had run ahead to locate her parents.

"She wanted to surprise you, so she swore us to secrecy," my mom said, giving me an apologetic look.

The knot of worry that had been tightening inside ever since we'd boarded the plane unfurled at once. The furtive looks my parents had exchanged the other night over supper made sense now. 

"I'm surprised, all right. I was half afraid this trip was an excuse for some kind of marriage meeting," I joked.

My mom just laughed and shook her head. 

"I think we'll let you graduate high school before we discuss wedding plans," she said, giving me a pinch on the cheek before she hurried to catch up with my dad. His legs were almost as long as mine, and he was standing some distance away, waiting for her.

A moment later, I halted in my tracks when the words my mom had said registered. 

_She wouldn't..._ I thought. 

Moo Wan's parents were waiting for us near the baggage claim. My mom can't fly anywhere without checking a bag, even for a weekend. After my parents greeted their long-time friends, Moo Wan's mother turned to me.

"Sawatdee, khrub," I said. 

"Ming, it's so good to see you. Moo Wan has been chattering nonstop about you ever since we learned we would be returning to Thailand. I can see why; you've grown so tall and handsome since the last time we saw you!"

"Thank you, mae. It's good to see you, too."

Moo Wan looped her arm through mine and was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Oh, I hope the weather is nice tomorrow! Daddy said we could take the boat out and go snorkeling. I can't wait!"

Moo Wan's parents owned a thirty-foot sailboat that Moo Wan and I had learned to sail when my family spent summers with hers.

"That sounds like fun," I said, which earned me another huge smile.

"Na, Ming, I've really missed you," she said, gripping my arm in both of her tiny hands as we walked. "Letters just aren't the same, you know?"

"Maybe not, but they helped a lot with my English scores. Thanks, by the way."

"Of course! My friends at school used to bug me about who I was writing to all the time. I told them you were my future husband and that we'd been betrothed since we were six years old."

I had to laugh. It was true that when we were six Moo Wan had said she was going to marry me someday. We had exchanged rings made out of green twigs we had bent into shape. I had almost forgotten about it.

"I still have it, you know," she said in a more serious tone.

"What's that?"

"The ring! It doesn't fit anymore, of course, but I keep it in my jewelry box."

"You do?" I said, both surprised and a little guilty. I had no idea where mine was, or if I even had it still.

"Of course! You made it for me." When she glanced up at me, her face fell a little. "It's okay if you don't have yours. Boys are different than girls, right? You must think all of that sentimental stuff is a waste of time."

"Aow, Moo Wan, that's not true. It's probably stuck in the corner of one of my drawers," I hedged.

Once my dad located my mom's suitcase, we followed Moo Wan's parents to their SUV, which seated seven. Moo Wan and I climbed into the back, where she proceeded to talk my ear off about her friends, her school, and the U.S. in general. I must have nodded off at some point. When we arrived at her family's beach house, I woke up with my head on her shoulder to find her holding my hand, examining my fingers. When I cleared my throat, she jumped.

"Oh! You're awake," she said, looking embarrassed. "I, um, I was just noticing how much your hands have changed. When we left our hands were still about the same size."

"We were still about the same height then, too, shorty," I teased. "Of course my hands are bigger."

I climbed out and held out my hand to help her out of the car behind me. To my surprise, she didn't let go, but twined her fingers into mine and leaned her head against my arm. The top of her head barely reached my shoulder. Part of me wanted to edge away, but I'd always thought of Moo Wan as a sister. This kind of closeness used to feel natural; we'd grown up together.

"Why is your family at the beach this weekend? Didn't my mom tell me you were starting at my school next week?" I asked.

She looked up at me expectantly, and when I didn't seem to understand why, her lips jutted out into a pout.

"Aow, Ming. Have you forgotten what tomorrow is?"

I ran through dates in my head...oh.

"Of course not! I was just testing you," I said, trying to play it off. She playfully punched me in the ribs.

"You jerk! How could you forget my birthday?"

"Oi!" I cried, rubbing the spot she'd punched like it actually hurt more than a mosquito bite. "I didn't forget. I mailed your birthday present to the U.S. a week ago. I had no idea you were coming home," I explained with a frown.

"Oh. I guess that's okay, then," she said, somewhat mollified. "We left a forwarding address, but it probably won't get here for a couple of weeks. What did you get me?"

"Not telling," I said. "If you wanted a present on your birthday, you should have told me you'd be home."

"I'm glad you came," she said, giving my fingers a squeeze. "The summers we spent here are some of my favorite memories, so I thought it would be nice to spend my birthday here this year with you."

I had to agree; I had always enjoyed the months I spent here in the summer swimming and sailing and snorkeling. I still had a collage of seashells hanging in my room that Moo Wan and I had made when we were ten. We had just about reached the front steps of the house when I let out an enormous yawn.

"Sorry," I said, feeling a little sheepish. "It's been a long day."

We had dawdled so much while talking that our parents had already disappeared inside. I held the door open for Moo Wan as we entered the house behind them. She turned to me and took my other hand in hers, swinging our arms back and forth as if we were still kids chanting nursery rhymes.

"Ming-ming, you should go to bed. If we're going sailing we need to be up early in the morning. Thank you for coming to help me celebrate my birthday." She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. "Sweet dreams."

I ruffled her hair in return. "Goodnight, brat."

I hauled my bag upstairs to the guest room I'd stayed in when I was a kid. The room had since been redecorated in a nautical theme rather than the space theme that had adorned the walls and furniture when I was younger. After a quick shower, I collapsed onto the bed with a groan, my thoughts jumbled in my head. 

I kept seeing Wayo chatting with P' Kit during basketball practice that afternoon. I'd been unable to stifle the prickly sensation of lava crawling up my skin again when I'd witnessed Wayo's hand on Kit's mouth, to the point that my pass to Beam had gone wild. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to interrogate Wayo before I had to leave for the airport that afternoon. I'd asked, but he'd made a "zipped lips" motion with his fingers, even when I'd threatened to send Pha a love letter and sign it from him.

For what had to be at least the hundredth time, I wished I had Kit's LINE Id. I'd been unable to come up with an excuse to give him mine. I wanted so badly to ask him about his soul-mark, but I didn't know if I could work up the courage to ask him in person. At least if I asked him on LINE I could pretend he hadn't seen it if he chose to ignore it.

My phone buzzed, and for a moment my heart leaped into my throat as I foolishly wondered if Wayo had given Kit my LINE Id after all. But it was just Wayo.

_OhOhOhWaYo: Y_ ou haven't crashed into the ocean and drowned have you?

_Mingaling:_ No. We just got here. You'll never guess who the mystery girl is.

_OhOhOhWaYo:_ Moo Wan?

_Mingaling:_ How'd you know?

OhOhOhWaYo: Tomorrow's her birthday, idiot Ming.

I was too tired to type, so I called him instead. He was laughing when he answered the phone.

"I wish I could have seen the look on your face!"

"Oi, asshole, you could have reminded me. I spent days worrying for nothing!" I spat. Then I remembered Moo Wan's behavior and my mom's odd choice of words. "At least, I thought it was for nothing. Now I'm not so sure. She's acting kind of weird."

My phone dinged, and I pulled it away to see that Wayo had sent a sticker of a rabbit popping a bear over the head with a squeaky hammer.

"What was that for?"

"For knocking some sense into your head. You know Moo Wan has had a crush on you since we were ten years old, don't you?"

I knew no such thing. She used to write to me sometimes about the boy she liked in her letters; I'd always assumed it was someone she'd met in the U.S.

"We're supposed to go sailing tomorrow, just the two of us," I muttered. What had originally sounded like fun now made me uneasy to think about.

"Good luck. Don't do anything that would upset P' Kit!" Wayo teased.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Not a thing. Goodnight, idiot Ming.

"Wait. First tell me what you and Kit were talking about this afternoon."

"We were talking about P' Pha, who else?"

Ordinarily, I might believe him, but Wayo sounded too self-satisfied for me to think that was the end of it.

"Did you ask if he was Pha's boyfriend?"

"No! Of course not, how could I ask him that?"

"But you found out something, didn't you?" He sounded absolutely giddy, much happier than when we'd left Kit's house a few days ago. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "I was just admiring Pha's skills, that's all."

"Ai' Wayo, if Pha ever gives you a personal demonstration of his skills, you won't be able to walk straight for a week."

"Ooiii! I'm hanging up!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." I knew what I really wanted to ask him, and if I continued to tease him, he would refuse to answer me out of spite. "I know you, Wayo. You're too nosy for your own good. You asked him about his mark, didn't you?"

He was quiet for a long moment. 

"Ming, if you're serious about P' Kit, I think that is something you should talk to him about yourself."

Unfortunately, I knew he was right. Only a coward would use his best friend as a go-between with his secret crush. 

"Okay, okay. I won't ask you anymore. But I do have one other question."

"Shoot."

"Why did you let that nong kiss your mark?"

"Obvious. Pha is the one for me. It doesn't matter if someone else kisses my mark."

I wasn't buying it. There had to be more to it than that. Wayo is usually painfully shy in front of Pha.

"Any other time someone has asked, you've always said no. Why did you say yes this time, especially in front of Pha?"

Wayo let out a huge sigh, and when he answered, there was an edge to his voice.

"Because if I didn't, they were going to make her ask P' Pha instead."

"Ooooh. Now I get it!" I said, cackling with laughter. "Jealous much?"

"Just like you would have been if they'd asked her to kiss P' Kit's mark instead," came his retort.

_Over my dead body,_ I thought. Suddenly Wayo's dilemma didn't seem so funny.

Still, I couldn't help teasing him a little more. When I finally hung up, I quickly sobered as I recalled what he'd told me about Moo Wan having a crush on me, and my uneasiness about the weekend returned.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I'm guessing that some of you may not be too happy that Moo Wan has appeared, but she's kind of important to the story I want to tell. Please put up with her for a bit, if you will. Her part (and Pin's) will be pretty minimal, but necessary (and no, she doesn't get her own POV. We'll only see her through Ming's eyes)
> 
> Love to all who read, vote and kudo! Let me know your thoughts, especially about Moo Wan :)
> 
> Title taken from Shakepeare's Sonnet #78.


	14. There Appears a Face

_PHANA'S POV_

"Sawatdee, khrap."

I was the first person in the gym on Saturday morning, so I decided to warm up early and practice some three-point shots. When I heard the tentative voice utter a greeting behind me, my last shot went wild, striking the wall off to the side of the backboard and bouncing along the floor until it rolled to a stop against one of the bleachers.

The person who had greeted me scampered to retrieve the ball before I was able to move a muscle.

_He spoke to me. He actually spoke to me._

I sound ridiculous, don't I? You have to understand...I used to be kind of a fuck-up. I was always in trouble for fighting or smoking or drinking or cutting class. Sometimes all at the same time. My counselor said I was acting out due to unresolved feelings towards my father, or some shit like that. She was probably right. He's never really paid much attention to me unless it was to bail me out of whatever jam I was in. Then there was a lot of screaming and yelling, with my parents blaming each other instead of talking to me. It made me want to punch someone, and I had no problem finding someone to punch.

I think that might be the reason I noticed Wayo in the first place. His dad is always the one to drop him off in the morning and pick him up in the afternoons. I was jealous that his dad cared so much and figured he was a pampered little prince. Then I heard that Wayo's mom had passed away when he was young. It's no wonder his dad is so protective of him - they're all each other has. I sort of kept an eye out for him after that. More than once I've managed to head off trouble from someone intent on picking a fight or bullying him. I don't think he's ever realized. When I'm not able to look out for him in person, Kit and Beam do it for me. They grumble about it, but they both have a soft spot for him. It's hard not to.

That's not to say that I don't occasionally bully him myself. Maybe I bump into him in the hallways a little harder than necessary from time to time. On purpose. It doesn't seem fair that plenty of girls, and even a few boys, fall all over themselves trying to please me, but whenever Wayo sees me he either pretends not to notice or runs the other way.

The day I discovered him playing with a kitten after school, his gentleness made me wish that someday he might look at me with his eyes as soft as they were when he picked up that kitten. When the mark appeared on my cheek the next day, I didn't understand why at first. I knew I hadn't met anyone new the day before. Once Kit pointed out that the curly lines next to the cloud looked like the wind, I realized that the mark was meant for Wayo. I always thought soul-marks appeared the first day you met someone. But for me, it happened the day I admitted to myself that I wanted to make someone mine.

In all the years we've been going to school together, even ever since he became the manager for the basketball team...this is the only time he's ever spoken to me first. Any time I've ever tried to speak to him, he's either stared at me like I was growing a second head on my shoulders, or mumbled down at the ground without meeting my eyes.

I suddenly realized that I was doing the same thing he often does - staring at him while he was trying to return the ball I'd lost.

"Watdee khrap," I replied, humiliated by the way my voice sounded like I had a frog in my throat. Frantically I struggled for something else to say before he just decided to walk away. "I didn't expect to see anyone else here so early."

 _Idiot_ , I thought. _That makes it sound like I don't want him her_ e!

"Sorry, P'. I'll get out of your way," he mumbled, looking as if I'd struck him. I took a couple of steps forward and reached to stop him with my hand on his shoulder.

"Nong, wait. That's not what I meant. I was just surprised. You don't have to leave." I gave him what I hoped was a friendly smile and was relieved when he gave me a tentative smile in return.

"I wasn't leaving," he said. "I have things to prepare before everyone gets here, that's all."

"Do you want some help?"

The tips of his ears turned red. So cute!

"The water bottle racks are a little heavy when they're full..." he ventured. "I wouldn't mind if you helped with them."

I followed him into the supply room and grabbed one of the crates to fill with bottled waters from the fridge while he busied himself folding the towels he pulled of the dryer and stacking them neatly in a bin. When we returned to the gym, Kit was there waiting.

"Thank you for the help, P'," Wayo said. "I forgot to get the clipboard. I'll be back in a bit."

Kit and I both waited and watched until Wayo disappeared through the door before he turned and gave me a knowing grin.

"Don't start," I growled.

"What?" Kit held up both hands to protest his innocence. "I didn't say a word!"

"You didn't have to. That look of yours says everything." I began dribbling the ball over to the net where I stood and aimed a few shots, attempting to ignore Kit's smirk.

"That mark on his nose cute, isn't it?" he said, sidling up next to me. I should have known he was up to something. He continued in an off-hand tone, "Yesterday, I thought you might actually murder Pin for making Nong Echo approach him."

My next shot missed the hoop entirely. Kit automatically moved to retrieve it for me, frowning when he reached down and remembered the splint on his arm. Instead, he nudged it with his foot so it rolled back toward me

"I bet if you asked him, he'd let you kiss it," he said. Then, with a sly side-eye, he added, "Or you could ask him to kiss yours instead."

Again my shot went wild, rebounding off the wall. I slapped it towards him but he dodged, as easily as I knew he would.

"Oiiii!" he whined, holding up his splinted arm. "Take it easy!"

"Think that's gonna save you?" I said. "Keep up with the jokes and you'll find out."

"I never said I was joking," he teased. When I faked a lunge at him he just laughed and darted out of the way.

"Speaking of marks..." I began, but the smile melted off his face and he shut up real quick. Not only that, but he nearly turned crimson. 

"Marks? W-what about them?" he said, stumbling over the words as if something had tied his tongue into a knot.

I folded my arms against my chest and studied him for a moment. I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.

"I was just going to say that Pin seemed awfully concerned about you yesterday," I said. 

He visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ai' Pha, you know how Pin is," he said, irritation creeping into his voice as he gave me a withering look. "She's nice to everyone. If you or Beam had been injured, she would have been just as concerned. Don't make something out of nothing."

"Not Pin, then. Is there something else you aren't telling me?"

He began toying with a corner of the bandage on his wrist that was beginning to fray.

"Of course not. There's nothing to tell," he said.

Kit is nearly incapable of lying, unlike Beam, who lies easily whenever it suits him. It's one of the reasons Kit is so prickly, because people have taken advantage of his inability to hide his emotions in the past. Now he just puts on a grumpy air most of the time to keep people at arm's length. 

At that moment, he was studying the frayed bandage intensely instead of meeting my eyes.

"Ai' Kit, did something happen with your mark?" I asked. When I reached out to stop him from unraveling the bandage any further, he snatched his arm away.

"Oiii. There's nothing like that," he insisted. "Why are you asking about marks?"

I decided to let him off the hook. Maybe Beam knew whatever it was Kit didn't want to say.

"I was just wondering, have you ever asked anyone to kiss yours?"

"No, I didn't ask!" he bellowed, then he clapped his hand over his mouth, the tips of his ears practically smoking with embarrassment.

Huh. There was definitely something there, judging by that reaction. He's been acting so twitchy lately that I could almost believe that something has happened with Kit's mark, except that it's currently covered by the splint on his wrist.

_______________

_KIT'S POV_

Mortified, I prayed Pha would drop the subject, but he's more persistent than a bloodhound that's caught the scent of a fugitive.

"Why not?" he asked.

_What did he mean "why not?" What kind of question was that?_

"It's just something I always thought I wouldn't have to worry about until I was older," I explained with what I hoped was a nonchalant shrug.

 _And then Ming had to go and throw a monkey wrench into the machinery,_ I thought.

Damn. I had promised myself I wasn't going to think about him today. I gave Pha an excuse about helping Wayo out and he finally left me alone. Of course, it may have helped that Beam showed up not long after that. Fortunately, it turned out that Wayo really could use the help so I volunteered to supervise drills in order to stay busy. Coach wasn't pleased that Ming was absent, but at least it gave some of the other junior players time to practice with the varsity line up.

"Beam, your passes are getting sloppy," I called out as he overthrew to Pha a second time. "Just because it's Saturday doesn't mean you can goof off!"

"Maybe I just don't think it's fair that loverboy gets a day off and we don't," he shot back.

I was livid.

"Here," I said, shoving the clipboard at Wayo before I climbed down the bleachers and stalked over to where Beam waited, a smarmy grin in place as he stood dribbling the ball.

"You think you're funny?" I said as I stood in front of him, arms crossed.

"Ai' Kitty, it was just a joke. Don't be mad," he cajoled as he tried to tickle me under the chin, but I was in no mood to put up with his bullshit.

When I looked around, I could see that practice had pretty much ground to a halt, and Pha was staring at both of us with a mystified expression. I was ready to kill this idiot and his big mouth. The last thing I wanted was for Pha to find out. He was overprotective enough as it was. If he knew, he'd harass Ming to no end. That is if he didn't just haul off and punch him.

"Twenty laps around the court, asshole," I snapped. "Now!"

"Kit, come on!" he said with a disbelieving laugh. "You're overreacting,"

"Thirty."

He bounced the ball away and took a couple of steps forward until he was standing in my face, taking advantage of his greater height to stare down at me.

"You can't make me," he said, like a rebellious toddler on the verge of a tantrum.

Beam is my best friend, but because of that he also knows exactly what buttons to push to get under my skin and make me lose my temper. Just before I was about to let him have it, Pha stepped in.

"I wouldn't count on that," Pha said. "But Coach will make you run laps _and_ suspend you from the next game if he catches you fighting." He nodded over to where Coach was chatting with Wayo as they studied the clipboard. "Quit being an ass and start running, Beam, or we'll make it forty." He took a look around at the rest of the players who were still standing around staring. "The rest of you, take a ten-minute break and get some water."

Beam gave me a disgusted look, but he loped off and began to make a circuit around the outer edges of the basketball court.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Pha asked.

"It's nothing," I said. "He's just being a dick is all. You know he never misses an opportunity to tease me about something."

He didn't look convinced, but he must have decided to let it go because he said, "Whatever it is, just settle it before the next game. You know he doesn't play well when he's got a bug up his ass about something."

I had to grin at the mental image Pha's words gave me. "Okay, okay. I'll talk to him after practice."

"Good." I turned to leave but Pha caught the sleeve of my shirt to stop me. "Kit, wait."

I turned back to find an uneasy look on his face. 

"Did you say something strange to Wayo yesterday?" he asked.

_Shiya. How did he know?"_

"Um," I hedged. "Not exactly. Why? Did he say something?"

"Yeah," he said. "That's just it. He _said_ something to me."

"Huh? Oh. _Ohhhh!_ " I repeated as understanding dawned. "No shit?" I glanced over at Wayo, who was busy passing out towels and water bottles to the players. When I looked back at Pha, he was watching the nong with a dopey expression. Too bad Wayo was too focused on his duties to notice.

 _Shiya, I hope I never look at Ming like that,_ I thought.

"Yeah," he said at last. "I think it's the first time he's talked to me the entire time we've been going to school together." When Wayo was down to the last player, Pha finally managed to tear his eyes away and narrowed his gaze at me, instead. "What did you say to him, Ai' Kit?"

"Nothing like what you're imagining!" I quickly backed away as he advanced on me with a fierce expression. "All I did was tell him that it kind of bothers you when he acts like a terrified rabbit around you, I swear!"

His expression turned thoughtful, and finally, he nodded.

"Oh. Okay, then," he said, more to himself than to me. He snuck another look at Wayo, who was now gathering up the plastic bottles the players had emptied so they could be recycled. "Thanks, Kit," Pha said. "You're a good friend."

"I'm your best friend, asshole," I said, giving his shoulder a light shove. "And don't you forget it."

"Yep. You are."

He ruffled my hair, then he loped off to snag a bottle of water before Wayo disappeared with them. I sat back down on the bleachers to count laps while Beam ran. At twenty-five, I stopped him.

"That's enough, Ai' Beam. Get some water and take a breather."

He dropped into a walk and did as I told him without arguing for a change. I thought he would probably sulk for the rest of practice, but instead, he seemed contrite and even brought me a bottle of water, too.

"Sorry, Kit," he muttered. "I guess I was kinda out of line."

"You think?" I groused, not ready to forgive him just yet.

"Ai' Kiiiiit...don't be that way. I said I was sorry!"

I really wanted to stay mad at him, but Pha had a point. It sucked whenever there was friction between any of us.

"Don't ever do that again," I warned. "It's one thing to tease me when it's just the three of us. But the thing with Ming and the mark..."

He pulled a doleful face.

"I get it. It won't happen again, I promise."

"It better not."

I made a few notes on the clipboard while Beam stretched out on the bleachers nearby to rest for a few minutes. When I picked up Beam's arm to glance at his watch, I saw that there was still at least an hour of practice left. Time seemed to be crawling by especially slowly today. I heaved a sigh and went back to my notes.

"Do you miss him?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the ceiling instead of me. Strangely enough, it didn't sound like he was teasing this time. Instead, his voice was oddly melancholy.

"Don't be ridiculous," I retorted.

But the truth was...I did.

Across the gymnasium, one of the double doors creaked open, and my heart drummed an uneven rhythm in my chest. The only player missing was Ming, and I wondered for a millisecond if maybe he hadn't left after all. But instead, someone who only looked vaguely familiar poked his head through the opening, peering around as if searching around for someone. He was nearly as tall as Pha and almost as handsome, with a tattoo running down the side of his neck. Beam turned his head to glance briefly in the newcomer's direction before quickly turning his gaze back up to the ceiling.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

\---------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Forth wouldn't leave me alone until I figured out a way to write him into 6 Moons: The Highschool Years. As always, thanks to you all for reading and especially for taking the time to comment or kudo. Much love to all! 
> 
> Title is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet #103.


	15. Mad in Pursuit

_BEAM's POV_

"Do you know him?" Kit asked.

"Um...I don't think so," I said as I sat up and draped my towel over my head, rubbing at the sweat that was soaking the back of my hair.

"Oh, wait. Isn't that Forth? Remember, we met him at Pha's New Year's Eve party last year?" He must be looking for Pha," Kit mused as he glanced around the gym until he located Pha talking to Coach. "There he is. Why don't you-" he began at the same time I stood and said, "Back in a few."

"Oi, Beam! Practice isn't over, where do you think you're going?" he called after me.

_Damn._

"To take a leak," I tossed back over my shoulder as I jogged off toward the locker room.

Once there, I did what I said I was going to do, then I stuck my head under the shower to cool off.

_What the hell is he doing here?_

I've always been able to lie with a straight face. It aggravates Kit to no end because he can never tell when I'm being honest or just messing with him. Pha usually knows, but he enjoys seeing Kit flustered too much to let him know my tells. Even he doesn't know all of them. He still loses his allowance to me every now and then when we play poker. Fortunately, he was on the other side of the gym when I told Kit my whopper _._

Did I know Forth?

Yeah. I knew him. And I wished I didn't.

I don't even know why I bothered trying to hide. I was just another pretty face to him; he probably didn't even remember what I looked like.

_Easy come, easy go, right?_

I let out a choked laugh at my own stupid pun as the water streamed down my face and into the drain below. It did nothing to ease the heat that had infused my face the moment I saw him again. Giving up, I finally turned off the shower and shook the water out of my hair, then leaned my head on my arms against the shower wall and took a few deep breaths.

_Fuuuuuuck._

To my dismay, I could hear footsteps approaching in the hallway. I wasn't ready to face anyone, so I snapped the shower curtain shut and stayed quiet.

"We can talk in here," Pha said to someone. I didn't have to guess who. Two pairs of shoes scuffed against the tiles on the floor, and then there was a moment of silence before Pha asked, "So, what's up?"

"I heard about your friend's accident," Forth replied. "Brick and Magic were at the game that day."

_Asshole doesn't even remember Kit's name._

"Oh? I took Kit to the hospital after the game so I didn't hang around," Pha said.

"Yeah. The guy that fouled him is named Edge, and Kit isn't the first player he's hurt." _Click-click._ I heard an odd, rhythmic sound of metal on metal, and I realized Forth was flicking a lighter open and shut as he talked. "Last year he tripped one of our sophomores, and he wound up with a busted knee. If you're planning on getting payback, we're in."

"Good. I'll let Beam know."

I held my breath.

"Ai' Pha, there's no need to involve anyone else," Forth said. _Click-click. Click-click_. The sound was faster now and grated on my nerves. "The four of us can handle this guy and anyone else that comes along."

_What the fuck?_

It was all I could do not curse at him from my hiding place. Who the hell did he think he was?

"I know that, but you don't know Beam. Kit's been his best friend since they were in grammar school. He's not just gonna let this slide," Pha warned.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." _Click-click. Click-click. Click-click._ "I'll text you with the details later."

I heard a soft slap, probably a high five, then the door creaked open and shut. I exhaled and realized I hadn't breathed in nearly a minute. I waited a few minutes to be sure they were gone. But when I shoved the shower curtain aside, Pha was standing in front of it with his arms folded against his chest.

"First Kit, now you. What is it with you two lately?" When I just stood there gaping at him like a fish in a tank, he narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. "Wanna tell me why you're hiding from Forth?"

What was I supposed to tell him? That last year, at his New Year's Eve party, Forth blew me, and after that, he blew me off?

_FLASHBACK - NEW YEAR'S EVE (just under a year ago)_

"Beam!" Pha yelled at the top of his lungs from across the room loud enough to be heard over the music that was thumping from the speakers. "My best bro! C'mere, I want you to meet someone."

I was a little irritated at being distracted from my evening's entertainment, but I had to crack a smile when I turned toward my friend. Although Pha had his arm wrapped around another guy's shoulders, he seemed unsteady on his feet, swaying slightly as he waved me over. I couldn't imagine the amount he'd had to drink; Pha can usually hold his alcohol better than any of us.

I glanced back at Dream, the girl I'd been making out with in a secluded corner half-hidden by a ficus tree, and gave her an apologetic shrug as her lips jutted out into a cute pout.

"He's the boss, baby, but I'll be back in a minute, ok?"

She reached up behind my neck to pull my face back down level with hers and plastered her lips against mine in a possessive kiss that tasted faintly of saccharine-sweet, strawberry lip gloss. I hoped she wouldn't bother to reapply it before I returned. When we finished, she drew back until we were nose to nose. 

"Don't make me wait too long, baby," she said, her voice breathy.

But instead of flirtatious, her words sounded like a warning, which didn't sit well with me. We weren't exclusive, but it's not as if I didn't show her a good time when we were together. I grabbed another beer on the way over to where Pha was standing with the newcomer. Kit was there, too, blushing as he laughed. Whether his high color was from the beer in his hand or something someone had said, I had no idea.

"What's up, boss?" I asked as I clinked my beer bottle against Pha's. I gave the stranger what I hoped was a friendly smile and realized I recognized him from a few photos taken with Pha when they were both younger. His face was older and more chiseled now, but his cheeks were still slightly rounded, and the beauty mark to one side of his nose was still prominent. 

He flashed me a cocky grin in return, and then I watched as his gaze slowly traveled from my face to my chest, over my stomach to my crotch, and all the way down my legs before making its way back up, lingering on my lips for a long moment before he met my eyes. I've checked out plenty of girls; I know what it looks like. I've even been checked out by guys before - just never so blatantly. I wondered if he'd done the same thing to Kit to cause the tips of his ears to turn so red, and as I felt heat infuse my face, I wondered if mine looked the same.

Pha was drunk enough to be oblivious, however.

"Beam, meet my other best bro! We go way back, almost as far as you and Kit," he said, still talking as if I was across the room instead of two feet away. He was gesturing between us with his beer bottle, which sloshed a few drops onto the other boy's lips. The boy's tongue darted out to sweep the droplets away. Then he laughed and snagged the bottle away from Pha, finishing the rest of his drink in a few swallows.

"Ai' Pha, I can't take you anywhere!" he chided. 

Pha got a strange look on his face, which made me realize he was even drunker than I originally thought.

"But I live here, don't I?" he said. The boy sighed, grasped him by the shoulders and sat him down on the arm of the sofa.

"Just rest there," he said with a chuckle. "Don't get up again until you remember your name. Or at least until you remember mine." When he turned back to me his grin widened as he introduced himself.

"'Wadee khrap. Pha has told me a lot about you guys over the years. It's good to finally meet you. I'm Forth."

"'Wadee khrap," I returned. "It's funny, but he hasn't said much about you."

Instead of making him frown, Forth's expression turned mischievous. He winked at me, then he turned back to where Pha sat on the arm of the couch, still looking bewildered. He slid his arm around Pha's waist and placed his other hand at the base of his own throat, affecting an injured look.

"Pha, am I your dirty little secret?" he whined, finishing with an exaggerated pout that rivaled Dream's.

Pha's eyes flew open wide, and he jabbed Forth in the ribs with a solid fist. "Asshole," he barked. "What are they going to think?"

Forth took the blow without complaining, but I noticed he rubbed his side even as he was laughing.

"Aow, man, that tickles. You're out of shape if that's as hard as you can hit these days," he teased. Then he glanced toward me and then at Kit. Neither of us had the chance to pick our jaws up off the floor before he burst out laughing.

"Oi, you should see the looks on your faces. I'm just kidding." He exchanged a glance with Pha, who nodded. "The two of us got into some trouble together a few years back. My parents sent me to school overseas because of it. I've only been back for a week."

Kit and I traded delighted looks. We knew Pha had a history of being a troublemaker, but he didn't like to talk about the things he'd done back then. Something had set him on the path of the straight and narrow, and he rarely deviated from it anymore. Here was a chance to delve into some of his well-kept secrets.

"That bad, huh?" Kit said, his eyebrows raised in anticipation. "What kind of trouble?"

"Stole a car, robbed a liquor store, and then set it on fire. The car, not the store," Forth clarified, giving Pha a wicked smile.

Kit and I both waited for him to say he was just kidding, but the look on Pha's face was so stony that it had to be true.

"Whose car?" I asked.

"My dad's," Pha answered in a monotone. He didn't seem to share Forth's amusement at the memory. "I'm going to find another beer."

He started to rise from the arm of the couch, but Forth put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down.

"Not so fast, pretty-boy. You remember my name yet?"

Pha's eyes rolled toward the ceiling, then he raised his middle finger in front of Forth's face.

"Yes. It's Asshole-who-drank-my-beer."

Forth chuckled. "Close enough," he said and released Pha to wander off into the crowd, watching after him for a moment before turning his attention to Kit and me.

"He's changed a lot," he mused. "When we were fourteen he chain-smoked and could drink me under the table. Now he's playing basketball for a school team and throwing passes instead of punches. Who's the lucky girl?" he finished with a knowing look.

"Umm...." Kit began, but before he could continue, one of the cheerleaders, Pin, bounded up to him and grabbed hold of his arm.

"Kiiiit, you have to help me!!" she pleaded, tugging on his elbow. 

Kit passed his beer to me and followed her around to the sofa perpendicular to the one Forth was now leaning against. As Forth and I turned to watch, she plopped Kit down on the sofa next to Ming, and Kit's face took on a look of panic.

"Wait, uh, what...." he stammered. I wondered if anyone besides me noticed that Kit gulped visibly as he glanced over at Ming, who raised one eyebrow in an obvious challenge. "Wh-what's going on?"

"It's a duel. You're my champion!" Pin explained, handing Kit one of the controllers for a game console. "Ming is playing for Wren."

Wren was one of Pin's cheerleader friends. She was perched on the arm of the sofa next to Ming, and she leaned over to kiss him soundly on the cheek.

"For luck!" she said.

"Aow, P' Wren," Ming said, giving Kit a cheeky grin, "the one needing luck is P' Kit-kat."

Kit's ears turned so red I was afraid they might burst into flame. 

Pin leaned over and whispered something into Kit's ear. Then she gave him a sweet smile and said, "Please? For me?"

"Okay, okay," he replied, faking an irritated huff. Everybody liked Pin, even Kit. She was friendly and good-natured and one of the prettiest girls at our school. She was in some of the same classes as Kit and me, and they had gradually become friends over the past couple of years. He finally gave in and returned her smile, saying, "You owe me." 

Imitating Wren, Pin leaned over and noisily smacked Kit's cheek. "Good luck!"

Ming surreptitiously rubbed at the spot where Wren's lips had touched him as his lopsided grin faded into a subtle frown. Kit was too busy fiddling with the game controller to notice, thumbing the sticks nervously. Fortunately, his natural competitiveness took over as soon as they booted up the game and he began furiously mashing buttons.

"Something going on there?" Forth asked as we watched the competition.

"With Kit and Pin?" I asked, a little surprised. "No, she's just a friend."

"No, I mean with him and the other guy," he said, nodding over at Ming. "You could cut the tension there with a knife."

He had a point. Ming and Kit were both intensely focused on the widescreen TV that took up most of the wall in front of them, neither engaging in the usual trash-talk that went along with gaming. Kit's knuckles were white where he gripped the controller while the cords in Ming's neck were strained.

"You mean Ming and Kit? Of course not," I scoffed. "Ming likes girls. So does Kit."

Despite what Kit and Pha may think, I'm not an idiot. I've noticed that each of my best friends is sniffing after a guy instead of a girl. However, neither of them had admitted it to me, much less to anyone else. It certainly wasn't my place to discuss either of their love lives with someone I'd just met.

"If you say so," Forth said with a shrug that indicated clearly he wasn't convinced.

"Why do you ask? Are you interested in Kit?" I asked, wondering at the tiny spark of heat in the center of my chest that my question ignited.

I didn't want him to say yes.

"He's cute enough," he said, tilting his head as if to better appraise the object of his scrutiny. Then he canted his eyes over at me with a sly smile. "But so are you."

The tiny spark grew into a flame that erupted outward, spreading all the way down to my toes and up to the roots of my hair in a confusing concoction of jealousy, embarrassment, alcohol-induced euphoria and lust. All of them warred for control of my body as my brain short-circuited in response to his shameless flirtation. 

"Uhh..." 

"Relax. I'm just teasing," he said, snickering as he noticed my reddened face. Then, almost to himself, he added, "Mostly. You're even cuter when you blush."

A cheer erupted from the other sofa, and I looked over to see that Kit's car had fallen behind Ming's with the end in sight. Wren was clapping gleefully, but her delight faded as Ming's car skidded into one of the NPC cars and crashed spectacularly, leaving Kit to sail over the finish line uncontested. He dropped the controller and threw his hands up in celebration, high-fiving Pin as they both cheered.

"Good game, P'," Ming said with an odd quirk to his mouth. He pinned Kit with a sleepy-eyed gaze that had Kit swallowing hard again.

"Um...you, too. Better luck next time," Kit replied, for once not snapping the other boy's head off as he often did during basketball practice.

"Aow, Ming, you almost had him!" Wren said with a charming pout as she walked her fingers along his arm, which was propped beside her on the arm of the couch. "Now I have to do all the baking for the seniors' snack boxes at the next game.

"I'm sure I can find a way to make it up to you, P'," he said, directing the same heavy-lidded gaze at her, which melted her pout into a smile.

"Good. You can start now," she said as she hopped off of her perch and tugged the controller out of his hold to give to Pin. Grasping his hands to pull him to his feet, she led him over to where a group of people were dancing, mostly other members of the basketball team along with some of the cheerleaders. Pin settled herself beside Kit on the sofa and restarted the game, focusing on the screen instead of how Kit's eyes followed Ming and Wren as they danced.

"Interesting," Forth said.

"What is?"

"You said that guy likes girls...but he threw the game on purpose so Kit would win." 

"You're crazy. There's no way that cocky little bastard let Kit win on purpose," I protested.

"Look."

He gave a subtle nod in Ming's direction. When I followed his gaze, I caught Ming with his eyes focused over Wren's shoulder and fixed on Kit. My friend was busy nudging Pin with his elbow to try and throw her off her game, both of them giggling as their cars swerved on the screen. Ming's usual confident air was missing, and in its place was an expression of quiet longing.

It was one thing for Kit to crush hopelessly on the most popular, annoying sophomore boy in school. It was another if his crush wasn't as unrequited as I'd always believed. Ming had already earned a reputation for breaking at least a dozen female hearts with a cold-hearted efficiency. I wouldn't just stand by and let him treat Kit the same way, dropping him once he got bored like he had every girl he'd dated since his freshman year.

As I let my gaze wander from Kit back to the boy standing next to me, I realized he had been staring at me instead of either Kit or Ming. His brow furrowed as he asked, "Did I get it wrong? Is there something between you and Kit instead of Kit and that guy?"

My heart threw an irregular beat. Were we back to this again? Why did he keep asking about Kit? 

"Don't be an ass. Kit's my best friend."

He shrugged, searching around the room until he found my other best friend, who was trapped between two girls hanging onto his arms, both obviously drunk and giggling.

"And Pha is mine. But I still might do him, if the circumstances were right." He punctuated this declaration by tapping his finger against his lips several times, finally leaving it there as he observed Pha with a far-off, almost wistful expression that made me wonder if it was really Pha he was thinking of.

"Circumstances?" Talking to him was starting to make my head spin. Or maybe it was the beer.

"Circumstances," he repeated. "Stranded on a deserted island. Sharing the same jail cell." He paused and the smirk reappeared as his gaze returned to me and his arms folded against his chest. "Or maybe drunk and horny at a New Year's Eve party." He leaned closer and added in a low voice, "You never answered my question."

I wanted to back away a step, but I also didn't want to let him know that his proximity was doing weird things to my body, so I held my ground as I asked, "What question?"

"Fuck, I hate it when guys like you play dumb," he muttered. Then he heaved an exaggerated sigh and jabbed his finger into my chest. "You." Then he jerked his thumb in Kit's direction as he said, "And him. Is. There. Something. Between. You?"

I knocked his hand away with more force than I should have because I didn't like the way it made my heart race when he touched me. I didn't like anything about the way he made me feel, as if the room was too hot, my clothes were too tight and there were too many damned people milling around making too much fucking noise.

"Absolutely not. Now fuck off," I growled.

As I stalked away in search of Dream, I was pretty sure I heard him say, "Good."

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Forth and Beam have hijacked the next couple of chapters of this story.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for reading and especially for taking the time to comment or Kudo. Stay safe. Much love to you all!
> 
> Chapter title borrowed from Shakespeare's sonnet #129.


	16. My Bad Angel

( _FLASHBACK CONTINUED - ABOUT A YEAR AGO,_ _BEAM's_ _POV)_

When I went looking for Dream, I finally found her in the pool with her lips attached to the face of one of our seniors - the captain of the basketball team, P' Dash. But I don't remember being upset about it. Instead, I wandered back to the pool house in search of other entertainment until Kit was ready to leave, but when a couple of senior girls from the cheerleading team asked me to dance with them, I declined. A few minutes later someone tapped me on the shoulder with a cold bottle of beer. I accepted it before I realized that someone was Forth.

"Guess she's not the patient type," he said. Then he nodded his head toward the pool where Dream and P' Dash were still visible through the large, plate glass windows, now attempting to dunk each other instead of lip-locked together.

I shrugged, remembering her warning from earlier. I didn't really care, it just was just one more thing added to the pile, and one of the least important. There were plenty of other girls. I just didn't feel like making the effort. The bottle he'd handed me was already open, so I downed a few swallows instead of answering

"Is she your girlfriend?" Forth asked.

"Dream? No. We've hooked up a couple of times, that's all."

"Aow. Sorry to ruin your evening," he said, giving me an apologetic look, as if he was worried I was upset.

"It's no big deal," I said. "I was getting bored anyway. All she ever wanted to talk about was BTS and makeup."

When the corners of his mouth lifted in response, something odd swooped around in my stomach, as if someone had flipped a switch and reversed gravity for a moment.

I turned around and walked further into the pool house while I polished off the rest of my beer. I rummaged around in the refrigerator for another, but Pha must have moved them all to the coolers outside. Giving up, I leaned back against one of the dark granite countertops, wondering if I should just call it a night. Forth leaned against the counter opposite me in the galley-type kitchen and folded his arms across his chest as he silently watched me for a moment.

"What do you want?" I asked finally, unable to bear his scrutiny for a moment longer. My skin tingled uncomfortably the same way it did under the sun at midday. As I reached up to undo the third button on my shirt I wondered if the aircon in the pool house was on the fritz or if it was just the effects of the alcohol.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," he said. " I didn't mean to piss you off."

"Forget it. It's not a problem," I muttered.

He nodded, but when I thought that would be the end of it, he gave me a self-conscious smile, rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger for a moment before he spoke again.

"Pha is the only person other than my family who kept in touch while I was away. He's like a brother to me."

I wasn't sure where he was going with this, so I stayed quiet and waited for him to continue.

"He would tell me about you and Kit every time we talked, so I sort of feel like I already know the two of you. You're important to him. If you're willing to overlook my tendency to shoot my mouth off at the worst possible time, I'd like it if we could be friends."

Friends. The word didn't sound quite right as he uttered it, his mouth forming the sounds in a way that seemed awkward and false. Something told me that friend was not a word I would ever be able to casually call this person.

"Mmm. It's fine."

He was quiet again for a moment, then he turned and began rummaging through the kitchen drawers.

"You still haven't answered my question from earlier," he said. It was easier to talk to him while his back was turned.

"What's that?"

"Pha. It's hard to believe he could change so much without a good reason. Is it because of a girl?"

I shrugged, not sure how to explain it, though I had my suspicions about the reason behind Pha's reform, even though neither he nor Kit had ever confirmed it. Sometimes I wondered how both of my best friends wound up falling for guys, especially Pha. As I watched Forth, I focused on the beauty mark above his mouth and wondered if he and Pha had ever been more than just friends.

"Did you and Pha really rob a liquor store?" I asked.

He cracked a grin.

"Yup," he said.

I couldn't imagine Pha breaking into a liquor store, much less stealing anything. Maybe I looked skeptical, because he continued.

"It's not as badass as it sounds. The store belonged to our friend's dad. Brick made the mistake of showing us where the spare keys were. I swiped them when he wasn't looking and used them to get in after he his dad closed up for the night. We only took as much as we could carry - maybe a dozen bottles of vodka."

"What happened after that?"

"We drank until we were sick. Then we used the rest of it to torch his dad's brand new Benz. Pha had caught him banging his secretary in his office earlier that day. He was torqued."

He shut the drawer he was rifling around in and opened the next one. I was just about to ask what he was looking for when he held a key ring aloft and jingled it in triumph.

"Some things have changed, but some have stayed the same. Guess Pha's dad never realized we copied the key to the liquor cabinet in the den."

I followed him back into the house, relieved to leave most of the noise of the party outside. He stopped and grabbed a few limes from the fruit bowl in the kitchen before he wandered into the den. It was cool, quiet and deserted, and Forth wasted no time in investigating the contents of the liquor cabinet.

"What do you drink?" he asked, bottles clinking as he shifted them around.

"Beer?"

"Boring."

He placed a bottle of tequila on the bar, then he tossed me the limes.

"Cut those into wedges."

While I did as he said, he found salt and a couple of shot glasses, which he filled carelessly, sloshing tequila out onto the top of the bar. Then he raised his hand to his mouth and darted his tongue out to lick the hollow space between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes locked on mine as he did so. He sprinkled some of the salt there and licked it again. Then he tossed back the shot and put one of the lime wedges in his mouth, his cheeks hollowing as he sucked the juice from the pulp.

"Your turn."

He refilled his glass first. Then, following his lead, I licked the back of mind hand in the same hollow. But instead of handing me the salt, he grabbed my fingers and sprinkled the salt himself, first mine, then his. I licked the salt away and then tossed back the shot, unprepared for the burn as it washed down my throat and into my stomach. He held one of the lime wedges up to my mouth and I quickly bit into it to rid myself of the taste, Forth watching closely.

"Nice." He glanced at the pool table in the middle of the den. "You play?"

"A little."

Only every weekend since I'd met Pha. Forth narrowed his eyes at me as he refilled the shot glasses.

"Right," he said, with a knowing smirk. "I'm probably a little rusty myself. Didn't have much time to play at school," he said.

Meaning he probably played as often as I did, if not more. 

"Right," I echoed. "Then let's play."

He indicated the shots on the bar. "Drink a shot every time you miss," he said. "Rack 'em up."

That bastard sank three balls on the break, and my hands were unsteady enough to make me miss the first shot I called. By the time Pha found us, I was at four shots to his three.

"I should have known you'd remember where the key to the liquor cabinet was," he said, but he didn't really sound angry. Forth twirled the ring around his finger before tossing him the keys, which Pha neatly pocketed.

"Want to play a game?" I asked.

Pha shot us an irritated look. "I was sent to find you. The girls want to play seven minutes in heaven, and I'm pretty sure they all want to play with Forth."

Forth shrugged. "Sure, what the hell."

"Pass," I said. "It's a dumb game."

"Only if you play it with the wrong person," Forth said with a wicked grin. "Come on, don't spoil their fun. Maybe you'll get lucky and wind up in the dark with someone you never realized you wanted to shag."

Twenty minutes later, I found myself in the dark with Forth.

There was an awkward silence between us for a moment after they shut the door, in contrast to the giggling and laughter on the other side of it. The light bulbs had all been removed so it was pitch dark in the bathroom, save for the faint strip of light coming from the crack under the door. 

"Pha never mentioned you were gorgeous," Forth said. Unless I was imagining it, his voice was huskier than it had been earlier. "If I'd known, I might have asked my folks to let me come home ages ago."

I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, since I couldn't see his face, so I had no idea how to reply. Even if I admitted to myself I thought he was hot, for a guy, I wasn't going to tell him that. I heard the faint whisper of clothing shift when he moved, and I could now barely see that he was standing just in front of me, heat radiating from his body. I tried to step back, but there wasn't really anywhere to go. My heart was thumping against my ribs like a rabbit that's trapped in a snare and being watched by a hawk. It was a wonder he couldn't hear it.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Of course not," I scoffed. I just hoped he was at bad at discerning my lies as Kit.

Yeah. He made me nervous. From the moment his heated gaze had landed on my lips after he'd checked me out to the moment he'd reached for my hand to sprinkle salt on it, I'd been a bundle of nerves on the verge of sensory overload.

"Good. Guys who are nervous are really bad kissers," he said, and the swooping sensation I'd felt earlier in the kitchen returned ten-fold.

"Wh-what did you say?"

"Just kidding," he said. There was another sound of shifting clothing, then I felt something warm brush against the shell of my ear as he murmured, "Unless you don't want me to be."

Like an idiot, I turned towards his voice on instinct, and my lips made contact with his. Instead of drawing back, he pressed forward, backing me against the door and bracing his hands on either side of me as he kissed me, softly at first, as if he was afraid I might punch him.

I still can't explain why I didn't. I was drunk, but not that drunk. Maybe it was because I already primed from making out with Dream earlier. His lips were just as soft as hers, and they weren't coated in sticky lip gloss. He smelled faintly of warm, male skin, citrus and sandalwood instead of the cloyingly sweet, floral perfumes that girls usually wore. As seconds ticked by and I didn't move away, he grew bolder, drawing my bottom lip between his two, stroking it with his tongue. I must have made some kind of noise, because he broke away. After several heartbeats he reached over to brush his thumb across my lip, as if to erase a mistake.

"Sorry," he said, his voice cracking oddly. "I should have asked first."

"Why did you do that?" I whispered.

His breath expelled in a sigh, still carrying the scent of lime and tequila.

"Because I wanted to. Because you've been staring at my lips all night, and it's driving me crazy. Because you're hot as fuck. Take your pick," he breathed, and he pushed back away from the wall and away from me. "But I won't do it again if you don't-"

If I don't understand why I didn't punch him, then I sure as hell don't know what made me fist my hands in his shirt to pull him forward until his lips landed on mine again with a muffled "mmph." I definitely don't understand why I opened my mouth, allowing his tongue to drive in to tangle hotly with mine as he cradled my neck in his hands. And I don't have a fucking clue why I clutched at his waist to drag his body flush against mine, or why my heart stuttered when he gasped _"oh fuck"_ against my mouth.

Any self-control I still had died with that little utterance. I broke the kiss and traced a path to the spot under his ear with my tongue. He hissed between his teeth when I bit him there, suckling at the saltiness of his flesh as if I wanted to devour him alive. The thought that he'd have a bruise there the next day made my blood run hot from an inexplicable desire to mark him as mine. His fingers dug into my shoulder blades then drifted further down along my sides, giving me goosebumps when they crept under the edges of my shirt and made contact with my skin.

"Want me to stop?" he murmured.

I answered him by shoving my fingers into his hair and biting his earlobe. If he kept talking I'd probably lose my nerve and bolt. 

His hands slipped around to the small of my back and finally further down to grip my ass as I kissed my way back to his lips. By the time his hand reached between us and cupped the bulge in my jeans, I was straining against the zipper. Something short-circuited in my brain, rendering me incapable of coherent thought. I was just trying to breathe without moaning out loud, which proved impossible when he stroked my length through the fabric.

"Pha says you like to gamble," he rumbled in my ear.

"Mmm," I agreed, not sure what he was getting at.

"I bet I can make you come before they open the door," he said, as he undid the button of my jeans and began sliding the zipper down.

"Mmm," I said again. I'm still not sure if I meant it as assent, or if it was just a reaction to the warmth of his hand against the thin fabric of my underwear. However I meant it, he took it as the former and dropped to his knees where he freed me from the confines of my jeans and boxers. I jerked in surprise when he pressed a kiss to a spot of skin low on my abdomen, teasing it with his tongue.

"Beam...are you ticklish?"

"Not usually," I replied. And it hadn't tickled, really. It felt more like an electric zing, and I let my head fall back against the door as yet another wave of warmth rushed through me, I assumed from the tequila spreading through my system. I couldn't stifle my gasp as something hot and wet enveloped my length.

"Wait," I murmured. "Bets have stakes. What if you lose?"

I let out an embarrassing whimper at the loss of that heat when he paused to answer.

"You'd better hope I win," he said, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "If I lose, we're both fucked."

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Ergh. I'm still not sure I like it. It's cliché and tropey and I'm afraid Beam and Forth are way OOC, but it's what I've got. If I don't move on I'll be stuck and never finish this story. Please let me know if you find any glaring errors/inconsistencies.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and especially for taking the time to comment/kudo.
> 
> (Title is from Shakepeare's sonnet # 144)


	17. Lust in Action

_FLASHBACK CONTINUED - Forth's POV_

I was honestly surprised at Beam's ability to stay as quiet as he did with my mouth and fingers wrapped around his length. Judging by the harsh sound of his breathing, it wasn't easy. When he did finally make another noise, it was my name, and the sound of it leaving his lips sent an electric jolt zinging through me, the same as when his teeth had closed on the sensitive skin just beneath my ear.

_"Forth..."_ he half-groaned, half-whispered.

I didn't think he wanted me to stop in order to answer him. When I hummed around him, his fingers curled against my scalp as he gasped.

_"Ahhhh...fuck...you win...."_

With that, he let go of his control, tugging the roots of my hair so hard as he came that it burned. My scalp seemed to throb in time with him as he pulsed against my tongue and filled my mouth, and it was all I could do not to join him, even though he hadn't touched me. I didn't release him until his fingers relaxed and dropped to his sides and he exhaled with a satisfied sigh. I rose then from my kneeling position and zipped him back up before sliding my hands around into the back pockets of his jeans. I pressed one last hard kiss to his lips and then I stepped back to give him some space. We were silent for a moment, anticipating the inevitable interruption. 

"Fix your hair," he muttered finally. "It's probably a wreck. Someone will notice."

I ran my hands through my hair to tame it, but it was more likely someone would notice that I was so hard that not even a cold shower would have helped. I untucked my shirt, glad it was long enough to hide the problem. Moments later several giggling girls came barreling through the door to tell us our seven minutes in heaven were up.

He glanced back at me once over his shoulder after they pulled him out of the still-dark bathroom into the hallway, his face blooming with color as they teased him. Two of them maneuvered themselves so that each of them had one of his arms slung around each of their shoulders and their arms wrapped around his waist while the third grasped the button placket of his shirt in her fist as she walked backward. Together they guided him out to the poolside, whining about the lost opportunity since his name had been paired with mine for their game.

"What are you doing?"

Before I could follow them, Pha stepped in my path, his arms folded against his chest. When I tried to go around he threw his arm out to bar my way and gave me a hard shove backward.

"What? I was about to look for another beer." My gaze, which was still fixed on Beam and his admirers, belied my intentions. I'm not usually possessive over one night stands, and he didn't even qualify as that, but something about the way they touched him and his acquiescence gave me a moment of pause.

Not much gets past Pha. It's like his bullshit detector works overtime, especially where I'm concerned. He followed my gaze over his shoulder for a moment, then he turned back and fixed me with a narrow-eyed glare.

"Ai' Forth, am I supposed to believe that it's a coincidence your name was paired with Beam's?"

I shrugged. He was right; I'd bribed one of the girls to draw our names together, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Coincidence or not, it was just a bit of fun, Pha. Nothing to get upset over."

He shook his head and gave a disgusted sigh.

"You haven't changed at all."

That pissed me off. He had no fucking clue what had happened while I was away at school because I'd never told him. I'd never told anyone. I probably never would.

"And you've changed so much I hardly recognize you." 

I shouldered my way past him, but he followed me over to stand at one of the full-length windows, next to the open doorway. Beam was easily visible outside near the edge of the deep end of the rectangular pool. The girls who had all but carried him away were doing their best to remove his shirt and jeans in order to convince him to swim with them, while he was laughing and doing his best to keep his clothes on. Nearby, Kit was perched at the end of one of the lounge chairs where the girl he'd "dueled" for earlier was stretched out, both of them grinning in amusement at Beam's struggle.

Beam's eyes shifted my way. I hadn't thought about the fact that he would be able to see us as easily as we could see him. He arched one eyebrow and finally stood still, allowing himself to be stripped to his boxers. His mouth twisted into a mischievous smirk when one of the girls' fingers skimmed over his bicep as she tugged his sleeve down his arm.

I felt a stinging sensation in my palms and realized I had curled my fingers into my fists so that my nails were digging into my skin. Beam threw his arm around one of the girls' shoulders and bent to whisper into her ear. She blushed and nodded, then skirted the pool until she knelt next to where Kit's earlier opponent was leaning against the edge of the pool. When she whispered something to him, he glanced over at Beam, who jerked his head in Kit's direction. The tall boy grinned and hauled himself out of the pool.

Kit had turned to speak to the girl on the lounge chair and didn't notice as the two of them approached from opposite directions, Beam affecting an air of nonchalance with his arm wrapped around the two other girls that had dragged him away from me. As they closed the distance, Kit's friend's eyes grew wide, and she hastily hid a smile behind her hands.

Kit's head whipped around just as Beam called out, "Grab him!"

I had expected Beam to help, but instead, the younger boy deftly scooped Kit up from the lounge chair all by himself as if he weighed no more than a child. The boy casually strolled to the deep end of the pool, where he paused at the edge, his grip on the still-fully-clothed-Kit, who was struggling madly, beginning to slip.

"P' Kit-kat, you're going make me drop you," the boy warned.

Kit's struggles ceased instantly, and he clung to the shoulders of the other boy with a death grip.

"Ai' Ming, who the fuck told you to call me that?" he spat.

The boy shrugged.

"No one. I made it up."

Kit's eyes narrowed.

"Put. Me. Down. Right. Now," he bit out in short, sharp syllables.

Ming's lazy smile dimmed somewhat as if he was considering complying with Kit's order. But then he glanced over at Beam, who shook his head. Ming's smiled turned rueful he shifted his focus back to the boy in his arms.

"Sorry, P' Kit, but P' Beam says I can't do that."

Instead, he took a couple of steps back and then hurtled forward with Kit screeching curses in his ear. Together they made a tremendous splash that drenched most of the people lounging along the poolside. Kit came up sputtering just in time to watch Beam dive into the deep end behind them. The two of them began wrestling to dunk each other as the other boy did his best to get between them, seemingly to protect Kit.

Rather than joining in, Pha simply watched his friends with fond amusement. I had thought maybe it was a girl that had caused such a change in him. But I hadn't seen him stare longingly after anyone all evening, female or male. I did often see his gaze shift towards the door as if he was looking for someone who had yet to appear.

"So...is it one of them you're into?" I ventured, just to be sure.

His earlier scowl return as he shot me a dirty look.

"Shiya, Forth. They're my friends, same as you." He focused his attention outside once more, watching the partygoers with a faraway look. "The person I was hoping to see didn't even show up," he said so quietly that I wasn't sure he realized he'd said anything.

"Aow. Sorry, bro."

He looked surprised for a moment, but then he shrugged like it was no big deal. I knew better. Clearly someone had gotten under Pha's skin during the time I'd been away. I waited for a beat before asking, "Is he cute?"

"Really cute," he murmured. Then his head jerked around and he gaped at me.

"Wait, wh-what do you mean 'he'?"

"Ai' Pha, it's me you're talking to," I said. My bullshit detector was almost as good as his, at least where he was concerned. "You said 'they're my friends', not 'no way, they're guys." I nodded at his two friends out the window. "Do they know?"

"No. And I intend to keep it that way," he growled.

"Pha..." I began but he cut me off.

"Mind your own damned business for once, Forth."

He stalked out the door, nearly tripping over one of the lounge chairs in his haste to avoid any further conversation. The chair made a loud, scraping noise against the pavement, which drew Kit's attention. He sent a final splash of water at both Beam and the other boy, shouting, "Assholes!" before he climbed out of the pool. Grimacing in distaste at his soaked clothing, he snagged a couple of towels from the cabinet next to the poolhouse door and began to try and mop up the water. I moved to stand in the open doorway and handed him another towel once the first two were thoroughly sodden.

"Is he ok?" he asked me, watching Pha's rapidly retreating back.

"As much as he ever is. If you ask him, he'll probably just tell you to fuck off." I glanced over at Beam, who was chatting up two of the girls who had divested him of his clothing earlier. "There seems to be a lot of that going around tonight."

"Huh?" He followed my gaze and smiled. "Oh. I guess he was pissed off that they drew his name with yours instead of a girl's?"

"Mmm," I grunted. "Something like that."

"Don't take it personally," Kit said, directing another glare at his friend who now had one of the girls on his shoulders in a water wrestling match with the other boy and the girl he'd been dancing with earlier. "Unless you have big boobs you aren't worth his attention. He'll be looking for someone new to fuck now that Dream dumped him."

As my gaze drifted over Beam's well-toned musculature, the thought occurred that I would be only too happy to oblige, but I had my doubts he would see it that way. There were probably plenty of other willing partners available, but as I watched Beam's antics in the pool, I realized the thought of hooking up with someone random had lost its appeal, even if the physical desire was more urgent than ever.

"I'm going to call it a night. Tell Pha I'll pick my bike up tomorrow, would you?" I asked. I'd had enough to drink that I didn't feel safe trying to drive it home.

Kit gave me a quizzical look but nodded. "Sure."

I caught Beam's eye as I began circling around the pool but simply gave him a single nod before I made my way to the gate. The back of my neck prickled as if I was being watched, but I was feeling too unsettled to give in to the desire to turn around and re-join the party.

Even though I lived a few miles from Pha, the exercise did nothing to relieve the tension that had been building in me from the moment Pha had beckoned Beam over. I thanked the powers that be that my parents had probably gone to bed hours before so I didn't have to put up with an interrogation before I sought relief.

It didn't help that, for most of the evening, I'd been so focused on Beam that I'd forgotten to smoke. My hands were trembling with the need for a fix as I struggled to retrieve a cigarette from the pack in my shirt and light it. The first drag was warm and euphoric in a way that nothing else could match, not even sex. I exhaled a long stream of smoke with a sigh, then, as I tucked the pack back into my pocket, my fingers brushed up against another object: Beam's phone.

He hadn't realized I'd lifted it from his back pocket as I'd kissed him the last time.

I grinned to myself as I pulled it out of my pocket and tossed it onto the nightstand before shedding my shirt and jeans. With a groan, I collapsed face forward onto the bed. I was exhausted, even though it was barely past midnight. However, there was still something I needed to take care of, or I would never be able to sleep.

I rolled over onto my back to make myself comfortable. All it took was the image of his sly smirk fixed in my mind to have me springing to life again. As my fingers drifted across my stomach and under the waistline of my boxers, I craned my neck over to see where his phone lay on the nightstand. I wondered how long it would be before he missed it, guessing he would be too distracted the rest of the night to bother looking for it.

But I was wrong.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: One more Forth/Beam chapter after this, then back to the regularly scheduled story. I never meant for this flashback to get this long!
> 
> I'm sorry if any of you are disappointed that the "interlude" between Forth and Beam isn't more detailed. I may revisit it later. I'm not terribly comfortable writing smut tbh. Not that I don't like reading it, I just suck at writing it and need practice. Not sure if it what is here is enough to warrant changing the rating of this story or not. I'd rather not if I don't have to - if I'm going to go that route, I might make a separate book for any sexy stuff as outtakes.
> 
> Title is from Shakespeare's sonnet # 129.
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who reads/votes/kudos. I'd love to hear your thoughts on any chapter. Hate it? Love it? Something you'd like to see from high school years? Questions?


	18. Starved for a Look

_Warning - this chapter is probably NSFW. It's not extremely explicit but better safe than sorry, yeah?_

_FORTH'S POV - (FLASHBACK CONT'D)_

I'd only had enough time to wrap my fingers around my length and give it a couple of strokes when Beam's phone began to vibrate on the nightstand, chiming with a generic ringtone. I reached for it with my free hand and saw that the caller ID indicated **"KITTY."** After a moment's hesitation, I answered it.

"Hello?"

"What the fuck are you doing with my phone?" Beam snapped.

I pressed the speaker button and dropped the phone next to my head, covering my eyes with my forearm as I smiled and said, "Sorry. I must have picked it up by accident."

"Bullshit. You stole it out of my back pocket!"

This time I laughed outright. He even sounded fucking hot over the phone when he was angry, his voice gruff and rumbling. My hand drifted away from its current location up to rest on my abdomen so I could concentrate enough to talk to him for a few minutes.

"Yeah, okay, busted. How else was I supposed to be able to see you again?" I asked

At that, he was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was disbelieving, making me wonder if he thought I had stolen his phone to sell it or something.

"You're telling me you stole my phone just to have an excuse to see me again?"

"Yep," I answered. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

Judging by the background noise, he was still over at Pha's, and the party hadn't yet wound down. I could hear music, laughter, and water splashing. I even thought I could hear people calling his name, but after a moment all of that ceased and the only sound was his breathing until finally barked, "Why?"

I sighed. I didn't think he'd react well if I told him it was because he had me so wound up that I couldn't think straight. Instead, I opted for the same excuse I'd given him earlier.

"I told you. I'd like it if we could be friends."

He paused so long I was afraid he'd hung up.

"Beam?"

He sighed heavily.

"For someone who claims to be looking for new friends you sure bailed on the party early."

_Is he pissed? He sounds kinda pissed,_ I thought to myself, and the possibility that my absence had affected him enough to make him angry had me almost giddy with delight.

"I'm surprised you noticed," I teased. "Last I saw you had your hands full of pretty girls. I thought you'd be occupied for the rest of the night with at least one of them."

Jealous? Me? Fuck yeah, I was.

His pauses continued to grow longer and longer; this time I didn't think he was going to respond at all when he finally growled, "I noticed. Why'd you leave?"

I was left to wonder just how much I wanted to admit, and I'm usually the type that goes for broke. Giving him a mental image of me getting off was a bonus.

"If you really want to know, it's because you kind of left me high and dry. I decided to come home and do something about it."

There was a choking sound on the other end of the phone followed by a bout of coughing. I suspected I had just made Beam swallow his beer the wrong way. When could speak again, he demanded, "Are you always like this?"

I deliberately lowered my voice to reply, "I am when there's something I want."

The increase in the speed of his breathing was subtle, but it was there. _Interesting._

"And you want me," he said, his voice low and unsure.

_So fucking bad._ My hand drifted downward again so I could my fingers around my length. I gave myself a long stroke and prayed I could keep my voice steady as I answered.

"I think I already proved that. Let me pick you up tomorrow and take you for a ride, and after I'll prove it again, if you'll let me."

The thought of him clinging to me as the bike screamed through narrow turns was nearly enough to undo me. I closed my eyes and recalled the scent and taste of his skin and the sound of my name on his lips. The spot under my ear still tingled where he'd bitten it; the sensation made its way into my veins, infusing them with heat and traveling straight to my groin. Little Forth might as well have been made of steel, and I had to give him a squeeze to keep from spilling too early.

"Why?" he asked, still unsure, but there was also something else in his voice I couldn't put a name to. Hope? Fear? Or maybe a little of both?

Part of me wanted to tell him that the moment our eyes met, a bolt of lust like I'd never experienced for anyone left me at half-mast and feeling flushed all over as my gaze roamed over his body. The look in his eyes when he realized I was checking him out - surprised enough to blush, but also a little intrigued - merely added fuel to the fire. I wanted to say all of that to him, but I thought better of it. I felt like the two of us were teetering on some type of precipice and all it would take were the right words to send him either plummeting over the edge with me or running the other way in a screaming panic.

"I already told you why," I said instead.

The following silence was punctuated by his breathing, even faster now and made even more pronounced by the phone receiver.

"I know you remember," I murmured. "Say it."

I didn't think he'd do it, but when he repeated my words in short phrases it felt like he meant them, his voice husky with desire, amplifying my own need.

"You're hot as fuck..."

I had to shift my arm away from my eyes and across my mouth to stifle my moan. He let out a shuddery breath that made me wonder, as I continued to stroke my length, exactly where in Pha's house he was and what he was doing...

_oh fuck_

"-and you were staring at my lips all night-"

...if maybe, like me, he was in a bed somewhere, on his back, hand wrapped around his member...

_oh...my...fucking_

"-and it drove me crazy-"

...wondering what it would be like with me above him and inside him...

_oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck_

"-unnnhhh...because I wanted you...oh sh-"

-fucking into him so hard he'd be feeling it for days.

_Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck_

I wasn't sure if I groaned aloud as I came but the sudden _BEEP BEEP BEEP_ from the phone indicating he'd hung up made me realize I probably had. I lay there, stunned, replaying his words in my head - words that hit me so hard I'd lost control the moment he'd said them.

_Because I wanted you._

Those were his words, not mine.

Just when my breathing had begun to return to normal, the phone next to my ear buzzed with two incoming text messages that had me grinning like a fool.

**_8pm tomorrow nite. Siam Center, outside in front of the fountains. Don't be late, asshole._ **

**_AND DON'T FORGET MY FUCKING PHONE._ **

A second later another a third text came in that must have been his phone number. I programmed it into my phone and then sent a text just to be sure, a part of me thrilled when his screen lit up with the words I'd sent.

I didn't know then I'd never make that date, or how much I would later regret not showing up.  
  
  


_FORTH'S POV - PRESENT DAY_

I should have left after I had delivered my message to Pha as planned. If I'd had any kind of sense, I'd have left immediately.

Instead, I turned a corner and stopped, sinking into a crouch with my back braced against the wall and my head propped against my forearms, willing my heart to resume its normal rhythm instead of the painful gallop that left me shaky and out of breath.

The moment Pha and I had walked in I knew he was in there, listening. It was all I could do not to stalk over to where he was hidden, reach in and drag him out. The only thing that stopped me was that I had no fucking clue what I would do after. What could I say? How could I possibly explain my actions?

Instead, I was left to hope Pha hadn't noticed me flinch when he'd mentioned him -I suspected the bastard did it on purpose - and pray that my voice remained steady when I'd brushed it off.

Nearby, the door to the locker room opened and I could hear the two of them continue carrying on a conversation as their voices began to diminish. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I straightened, waiting until I could no longer hear them before I peeked around the corner.

He was right there. All I had to do was call out, and maybe I could begin to resolve this situation. I even opened my mouth to do just that. But suddenly his posture stiffened and he stopped in his tracks, his head turning to one side...

...and I ducked back behind the corner, even as I cursed myself for being a coward. I waited until I heard the squeak of the gymnasium door hinges before I risked taking another glance. The door was swinging shut, and Pha and Beam were nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned the corner, ducking into the locker room where I walked back to the shower stall that he had occupied. I thought he'd simply opted to hide there, but the floor and walls were wet, making me wonder why he'd needed to hose himself down in the middle of practice. Was he was just cooling off, or had my arrival affected him as much as his presence had affected me?

I twisted the knob for the cold water and sighed with relief when the spray doused my hair and face. I raised my hand to the spot under my ear that still throbbed now and then, even after almost a year had passed and we'd never spoken again. The water, as frigid as it was, did nothing to ease the sting, but it passed after a moment as it almost always did.

Those moments were few and far between these days. I should be glad. But I walked over and took a look in one of the nearby mirrors to inspect the mark that had been a snake twined round a staff emblazoned in cobalt blue under my ear. Now it was black with muddled edges as if someone had tried to burn it away. Part of me wished I had the option to do it all over again. I knew I would make different choices, but I still wasn't sure what I would change.

The other part of me said what's done is done and urged me not to look back.

Most of the time...I didn't.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Whew. Finally. Next chapter should return to Ming's POV. Forth and Beam will be back to work out their issues at some point, but for now it's back to Kit and Ming.
> 
> IMPORTANT: is their phone exchange too hard to follow? from the time Beam says "You're hot as fuck..." to the time he hangs up, is it clear what he's saying (in quotations) vs what Forth is narrating (regular text) vs Forth's silent chant (in italics) while he's getting down to business?? I hope it works as is, but if I need to fix it so it's clearer, please let me know! (and is this explicit enough that it should be rated mature? not that clear on AO3's policies)
> 
> Thank you for all for reading, commenting and leaving kudos; I hope you all know how much I appreciate it and enjoy reading your thoughts - it helps me know what is working and what might not be. 
> 
> title from Shakespeare's sonnet #75 (I don't know why I add this, I know y'all probably don't care but I hate coming up with titles and it amuses me to try and find a line that fits. This story was sort of inspired by my favorite sonnet so I suppose you could call it a theme)


	19. Power to Hurt

_MING'S POV (Phuket, the same day as practice)_

"...happy birthday to you!"

As we finished singing, Moo Wan blew out the candles on the elaborate cake her mother had ordered, extinguishing every last one.

"What did you wish for?" my mother asked.

"Not telling," she answered, giving me a surreptitious glance. "If I do, it won't come true."

Her cheeks seemed a little red; I wondered if it had anything to do with her wish, or if she was just burnt from spending the morning in the sun. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day to make my bad feeling from the night before seem prophetic. We got up early to make merit, then we spent the rest of the morning sailing and snorkeling before it got too hot. We took it easy that afternoon; it was too hot to go anywhere, so Moo Wan napped for a few hours before supper while I spent my time studying for the English exam I had the next week.

"Honey, didn't you two have plans for the evening?" MooWan's mother asked

I quirked an eyebrow at Moo Wan. If we had plans, she hadn't let me in on them yet.

"Oh, um, I guess I forgot to mention it," she said, stammering a bit as she met my glance. "Will you take me to the Chillava Night Market? My grandma gave me some birthday money and I wanted to do some shopping while we're here," she said, giving me a cute smile. "Pleeeeease?"

"You can take the bike, Ming. We know you'll take good care of Moo Wan," her father said.

How was I supposed to say no to that?

An hour later, not long after dusk, we were wandering among the stalls of the night market. Every once in awhile Moo Wan would let out a squeal and dash over to something that caught her eye, leaving me to jog after her so I wouldn't lose her in the crowd. After the third time this happened, she reached out and grabbed my hand with hers, gripping it tightly to drag me along with her. Her latest discovery was a stall with handcrafted jewelry. She pointed to a necklace with a pink, teardrop-shaped pearl pendant.

"Look, Ming! Isn't it pretty?"

"Mmm," I answered. When she glanced up at me from under her lashes with a pout, I sighed in mock aggravation. "I already sent your birthday present, remember? It's not my fault you didn't tell me you were coming back home."

"Ming Ming....will you buy it for me, na kha? Na, na, na?" She fluttered her eyelashes as she tugged at the sleeve of my shirt.

I rolled my eyes, but I fished my wallet out of my pocket anyway and counted out the baht needed. Moo Wan hopped up and down, clapping her hands like a little girl as the clerk wrapped the necklace in a long box.

"Yay, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, clutching the box to her chest as if it was a priceless treasure.

"Don't thank me. It will probably turn your neck green," I teased. "Now that your mission to make me buy you a birthday present has been accomplished, are you ready to go back?"

She nodded, so we rode back to the beach house, where our parents were gathered by the pool, waiting for us. Moo Wan showed her necklace off to our mothers before she went to change into a swimsuit.

"What a sweet present," my mom said, giving me a conspiratorial wink.

"Mae..." I said in a warning tone.

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

I sighed. This is what the bad feeling was about. I knew there was something to that look my mom had given my dad when she told me we were coming here. I should have known better than to think I was in the clear since the mysterious friends turned out to be Moo Wan's family. I think my mom has been plotting our wedding with Moo Wan's mom since we were both in diapers.

"You know what," I said.

"Aren't you going to run upstairs and change into your swimsuit?" she asked, snickering behind her hands when I gave her my best glare. I ignored her and did as she suggested. To my dismay, by the time I made it back out to the pool, our parents were heading inside for the evening, claiming the mosquitoes as an excuse.

"My mom is about as subtle as an elephant trying to hide in a refrigerator," I muttered.

"Did you say something?" Moo Wan asked.

"Never mind," I said, diving into the water before she asked again. The last time we'd been swimming together had been before high school. Things were a little more awkward now, at least until the first time she dunked me.

"Now you have to pay," I crowed, hauling her up out of the water so I could hurl her into the deep end, screaming and giggling as she hit the water's surface. After that it was easier, not so very different from when we were kids.

I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't wander over the curves that were new since the last time I'd seen her, but the fact was, I thought of her the same way I thought of Wayo...like a sibling by choice rather than by birth. Unfortunately, I was beginning to get the idea she didn't feel the same way, judging by the looks she kept giving me when she thought I wouldn't notice. Finally, I decided I'd had enough and climbed out to towel off, helping her up the ladder when she followed. It was still too early for bed, so we stretched out on the lounge chairs to enjoy the ocean breeze. I had just about dozed off when I heard her chair scrape against the concrete and opened my eyes to see where she was going.

Her mother had left the necklace box on the glass table, so she retrieved it and held it out to me.

"Will you put it on me, please?"

I sat up and moved over to give her some room to sit in front of me. When she lifted up her hair I noticed a mark in roughly the same location mine was. She shivered when I accidentally brushed my fingertips across it to fasten the chain.

"When did that happen?" I asked. "You never mentioned you'd met your soulmate."

She glanced back over her shoulder at me for a moment and then faced forward again, her head tilted toward the ground.

"Ming, I've had that mark since I was a little girl. I thought you knew," she murmured.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "You've always worn your hair long. I guess I just never noticed until now."

Truth be told, I'd never paid much attention to soul marks until mine showed up. Even after that, they were something I just accepted as a given and didn't spend much time thinking about - until I saw Kit's.

I released the clasp and tested the chain to make sure I had fastened it securely.

"All done."

She allowed her hair to fall but pulled it to one side over her shoulder so that one edge of her mark, which appeared to be the outline of a spiral-shaped seashell, was peeping out from underneath. It looked like the ones we had collected when we were kids. Before I could see any further detail, she turned to face me again with a sunny smile as she reached up to touch the pearl pendant, which rested just beneath her collar bone.

"Thank you," she said again. "I love it."

"You're welcome," I said. "It suits you."

I stretched out again in the lounge chair with my arms folded behind my head and closed my eyes, but even after she returned to the other chair, I could feel her watching me. Finally, she ventured, "I noticed this morning that you have a soul-mark now, too."

"Ye-es..." I drawled, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. "It showed up not long after you left for the States, sometime during the first week of school that year."

"Oh." She paused for a beat before asking, "Do you know whose it is?"

"No," I said, and I left it at that. Moo Wan might be one of my best friends, but even if I was ready to admit to myself that I hoped the mark might be Kit's, I wasn't ready to discuss any of that with her. Wayo was the only person who knew, and even he didn't realize just how much Kit had begun to occupy my thoughts.

Moo Wan was silent for a few minutes as we both listened to the waves thundering onto the shore in the distance. The surf had picked up and clouds were gathering. We had been lucky the weather had been pleasant today, but it would probably be storming before daybreak. I heard her shift around in her chair and peeked over to see that she was now leaning back in the lounge chair, like me. 

She inhaled deeply and then sighed, saying, "I love the smell of rain." When she glanced over and saw I was watching, she smiled and added, "I'm really glad we were able to go sailing today. We went a few times while we were in the States, but it wasn't the same without you."

I didn't know what to say to that. I had missed her, but maybe it was different for me, since I had Wayo, too. Moo Wan wouldn't have known anyone in the US when she and her family first moved there; she must have been lonely. I probably should have taken my job as her pen-pal more seriously while she was gone.

"Now that you're back we'll probably be able to do it again soon. Maybe next time we can bring Wayo, too."

There was a flash of discontent on her face as I said this, which only added to the unease I had begun to feel earlier. I closed my eyes again and debated telling her I was tired from the long day and ready to go inside. But before I could say anything, she called my name hesitantly.

"Ming?"

"Hmm?" Her tone gave me a nervous, queasy feeling that I hoped wasn't apparent in my voice. Something told me I should bolt, that I didn't want to listen to whatever she was about to tell me, but I made myself stay anyway.

"In your letters, which there weren't nearly enough of, I might add, you never mentioned whether you had a girlfriend."

_Shiya. Idiot Ming. I should have seen this coming. Wayo tried to tell me last night._ I sat up and faced her, leaning my elbows on my knees with my hands clasped between them and hoped I could navigate this conversation somehow without destroying our friendship.

"I've had a lot of them," I said, and at her raised eyebrows, hurried to explain, "but there was never really anyone important enough to tell you about."

I thought I should probably feel bad about that, but it was the truth. I'd never dated anyone more than a couple of months, and I had never pursued any of them myself. A lot of the time when I managed to write to Moo Wan, I had been between girlfriends.

"Oh." At this, her expression brightened a bit. "Then, you've never asked anyone to kiss your mark?"

I shook my head. "No. Never."

And, unfortunately, the only person I was beginning to think I might want to ask looked like he wanted to clobber me after I kissed his.

"Has anyone ever asked you to kiss theirs?"

My fingers clenched reflexively as I answered, "No."

It felt like a lie, but technically it wasn't. After all, Kit hadn't asked. As I waited for her to finally say what she'd been leading up to, my knee began bouncing up and down rapidly. She sat up and turned to face me, mirroring my posture except that she reached up and twirled a lock of hair around one of her fingers.

"Um...then...would you kiss mine?" As if she felt she needed to provide incentive she rushed to add, "It's what I wished for tonight."

_Fuck._ How was I supposed to say no when she put it like that? For a moment I wondered what harm it would do. Maybe I could kiss her and get it over with and prove I wasn't her soulmate, because I was certain she wasn't mine.

But Kit's face, frowning in disapproval, popped into my head, and I knew I couldn't. It wasn't that he would care, because I didn't hold out much hope that he liked me that way. More than anything, I seemed to annoy him. But, even if it was silly of me, it seemed disloyal somehow, since I was pretty sure that I liked him.

The hopeful smile Moo Wan wore began to fade as she watched the play of emotions across my face.

"Oh." The syllable she uttered was barely audible as if it had only just escaped with the tiny sigh of disappointment she exhaled. "You have someone you like, don't you?"

I looked down, unsure of how to answer, but whatever she saw on my face seemed to be enough.

"I see. Then let's just pretend I never asked, please. No matter what else, you're still my oldest friend."

I nodded, still focusing on the ground at my feet, unhappy that I had disappointed her.

"I think I'm going to go up to bed now," she said as she reached out to cover my clasped hands with one of hers. "Don't stay out here too long, okay? The mosquitoes will bleed you dry if you do."

She stood to leave but I caught one of her hands in mine before she could make her escape.

"Moo Wan, are we okay? I don't want things to be awkward, especially since you're starting school with me next week."

She squeezed my fingers for just a breath before she let go, putting on a brave smile.

"Of course we are."

I stayed out long after she left, eventually finding my way down the winding trail hidden beneath the trees to the beach, which was being devoured by the incoming tide. The wind churned up the spray from the waves into a fine mist that coated my face in droplets of water which tasted of salt.

_______________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - And we're finally back to Ming and Moo Wan after what seems like ages. Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting. I love reading your thoughts on the story so far, so please don't hesitate to leave a comment, even if it's just an emoji! I will do my best to reply.
> 
> Title borrowed from Shakespeare Sonnet #94


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